Aristotle's Syllogisms Aristotle stated that al

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.

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t have that attribute at the same time. Aristotle calls the law of contradiction self-evident and undeniable. An apple cannot be red and not red at the same time (139-140). Adler purports that a chief practical use of syllogisms in everyday conversations and thinking is to note such statements that are incompatible with each other. As thinking, intelligent persons, we have every right to stop someone and say, "Both of your statements cannot be true. Which of the two do you claim to be true?" In particular, general statements containing the word "all" can be contradicted by only one negative example. People are particularly prone to making generalizations about other human beings who differ from them in sex, race, or religion (142-143). Following is a simple model of a practical syllogism: Major premise: All animals are mortal. Minor premise: All men are animals. Conclusion: All men are mortals. (Adler 146) In the following example, the reasoning is logically valid, but the conclusion is false because the minor premise is false. Major premise: Angels are neither male nor female. Minor premise: Some men are angels. Conclusion: Some men are neither male nor female. (Adler 146). In pra

Category: Philosophy - A