Robert J. Gula - Nonsense

A nyone who met Robert John Gula in his relatively short life of forty-seven years, a life prematurely cut short by pancreatic cancer, was immediately impressed: the energy, the piercing eyes, the clarity and brevity with which he spoke, the athletic form, the mass of swept-aside but rarely tousled sandy brown and gray hair, the sometimes impish sense of humor, the complete concentration with which he listened, really listened, to others, the sparkling mind. Here was someone who set track records as a youth, who loved dogs and children, who played the piano at a concert level with special enthusiasm for Franz Liszt, but who also wrote or co-wrote seventeen books on subjects ranging from Mythology: Greek and Roman to Precision: A Reference Handbook for Writers , and who also taught Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry, chemistry, English composition, and, most famously, logic, in addition to serving as Director of Studies, at the Groton School, one of the best secondary schools in America.

In a listing in Contemporary Authors , Bob Gula described why he wrote his last book, a handbook of verbal logic. Nonsense came about because of my frustration in seeing how people, even highly intelligent people, are often simply unable to [communicate] when in a group. Having seen many meetings and discussions that floundered, I began to wonder why. That wonder led to a course at Groton on informal logic, and that logic course led to Nonsense .

I notice that some people are afraid of logic. You and your logic, they say to me. However, I also note that this attitude usually reflects the fact that they have been caught short, either not knowing what they are talking about, not having thought through their position, or not realizing that they are reacting emotionally rather than rationallythat is, that theres some hidden agenda behind their attitudes.

Nonsense was intended to be the best compilation and study of verbal logical fallacies available anywhere, and it is that and more. On one level, it is a handbook of ways that people deceive themselves and others. If a fallacy exists, Gula has identified and labeled it, like a joyful lepidopterist showing off every variation on butterfly wings. On another level, it is a short course in nonmathematical logical thinking, a form of thinking that is especially important for philosophy and economics, but also one that all of us use and often horrendously abuse every day. In substance, the book is a remarkable tour de force of scholarship, yet in style is unexpectedly relaxed, informal, accessible, a pleasure either to read or to consult.

Nor should potential readers or users be intimidated by the sheer number of fallaciesover 170which are listed and explained. In a broader sense, they are all variations on a few simple themes, the habitual human tendency to be: disorderly, beginning at an inappropriate place or failing to proceed properly; disorganized, with different objects not properly distinguished from each other or properly categorized; inconsistent, often with direct self-contradiction; unclear, whether intentionally or unintentionally; irrelevant, that is, injecting information or arguments that are irrelevant to what is being asserted; or incomplete, omitting some important fact, point, or perspective.

Summarized in these terms, Gulas book should be familiar enough to all of us. But what is most impressive and fun about Nonsense is all the specifics, all the myriad ways that human beings go about being illogical, all the variations and permutations, each itself covered in an orderly, organized, consistent, clear, relevant, and complete way. One of Gulas students at Groton said in the school newspaper that the book taught me how to think, and another said, It changes your life. It is rare for a handbook, even one that is the best reference book in its field, to change someones life. But this one can change anyones life, if he or she imbibes Gulas spirit as well as studies his numerous examples.

Hunter Lewis