Where's the Bedrock?

This is part 2. If you missed part 1, click here.

Imagine a child asking, “Why is the sky blue?” You might explain light scattering or atmospheric particles, but what if the child just keeps asking “Why?” Eventually, most of us would land on, “Well, it just is.” At some point, we all hit a wall in our explanations—a point where we say, “That’s just the way things are.” Philosophers want to call these “brute facts.”

At first glance, brute facts seem like an easy answer to big questions. Why does logic work? Because it just does. End of story. But is it?

Let’s picture a construction crew building a skyscraper. Imagine them confidently pouring concrete for a foundation, only to discover they’re building on sand. The building might look fine at first, but without a solid base, disaster looms. Brute facts are a lot like a concrete foundation built on sand—they give the illusion of stability but collapse under scrutiny.

For example, if we claim that logic “just exists,” we’re left with more questions than answers. Why is logic universal, applying everywhere and always? Why is it unchanging, unlike so much in our shifting world? And how is it something we can rely on if it has no deeper explanation? It’s like trying to pour concrete in order to create the mold you need to pour your concrete. Without the mold already in place, the concrete has nowhere to set, and the whole process collapses on itself before it can even begin.

Here’s the problem: when we say logic is a brute fact, we’re essentially shrugging off the hard questions. It’s a bit like calling a truce in the middle of a debate, not because you’ve won, but because you’ve run out of answers.

But what if logic isn’t a brute fact at all? What if it’s not some unexplained “thing” hanging out in the universe but something that flows from the very nature of reality itself? That would mean logic has a foundation—a bedrock that doesn’t crumble when pressed.

In the next blog, we’ll examine another common idea about the origin of logic: the theory that it evolved along with us. Can something as unchanging as logic really come from a process defined by change? Let’s find out together. (see next entry ->)