Aristotle stated that all men naturally desire knowledge. That is why we have such high esteem for the senses (Allen 307),
information, information-gathering, and knowledge. This curious bent of man sets us apart from animals. Aristotle particularly extolled the use of reason. He believed that a life of reason is divine, compared to man's mortal life (Woodbridge 98).
According to Wallace, Aristotle regarded the use of syllogisms in logical thinking to be his own discovery. Syllogisms are statements of truth linked by a middle term. Aristotle enunciated the rules of syllogism as follows: (1) one premise must be affirmative, (2) One premise must be universal, and (3) conclusions must be previously distributed in the premises (36-40). This paper discusses the distinction between theoretical and practical reason, the employment of theoretical and practical syllogisms, and problems associated with using these methods in pure reason.
According to Milo, Aristotle himself did not make a clear distinction between theoretical reason and practical reason. Scholars, nevertheless, have discussed differences between the two. Milo notes that in theoretical reasoning we must affirm something, and in practical reasoning there is action (50-51). Wallace cites hypothetical reasoning as an argument in which something is allowed to follow if something else is proved. These types of constructs are of an abstract nature, having to do with the nature of man. An example could be that every being whose actions cannot be totally explained by material causes is spiritual. Man is a being who cannot be explained by material causes. Therefore man is a spiritual being (41-42). These statements together form a syllogism, which may be inductive or deductive. This particular syllogism is theoretical.
In contrast to theoretical reasoning, practical reasoning gives us not only reasons for believing, but reasons for choosing and acting. Lik...