A View of Logic from the Minimal Structure of Cognition

Starting from the lowest conditions under which cognition can be established, this paper proposes that any existence that can enter human cognition and thereby constitute a “world” must satisfy the Law of Stability, the Law of Existence, and the Law of Causality. On this basis, “things” are defined as Substrate + Logos: the Substrate embodies the Law of Existence; Logos constrains and prescribes the operation of things; and the Law of Causality is the structural presentation of such operation at the cognizable level. Furthermore, this paper proposes that logic is the projection of the Law of Causality within cognition, arising from organisms internalizing stable structures of the world’s operation (causality). Finally, this paper draws a boundary for logic: logic must point to world-structure; any empty self-rotation detached from things, as well as any form of self-reference, constitutes a transgression beyond its proper scope.