syllogism
Sign in to saveA syllogism (, syllogismos, 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.
AI overview
A syllogism is a type of logical argument where you start with two statements that are assumed to be true and use deductive reasoning to reach a conclusion. It matters because it provides a structured way to test whether conclusions actually follow logically from the statements that support them.
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Article
30 sectionsContents
- Early history
- Aristotle
- Medieval syllogism
- Boethius
- Peter Abelard
- Jean Buridan
- Modern history
- Boole's acceptance of Aristotle
- Basic structure
- Polysyllogism
- Types<!--linked from 'Term logic'-->
- Examples
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- Celarent (EAE-1){{anchor|Modus Celarent}}
- Darii (AII-1){{anchor|Modus Darii}}
- Ferio (EIO-1){{anchor|Modus Ferio}}
- Baroco (AOO-2){{anchor|Modus Baroco}}
- Bocardo (OAO-3){{anchor|Modus Bocardo}}
- ''Barbari (AAI-1)''{{anchor|Modus Barbari}}
- ''Celaront (EAO-1)''{{anchor|Modus Celaront}}
- ''Camestros (AEO-2)''{{anchor|Modus Camestros}}
- ''Felapton (EAO-3)''{{anchor|Modus Felapton}}
- ''Darapti (AAI-3)''{{anchor|Modus Darapti}}
- Table of all syllogisms
- Syllogistic fallacies
- Other types
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
A syllogism (, syllogismos, 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.
In its earliest form (defined by Aristotle in his 350 BC book Prior Analytics), a deductive syllogism arises when two true premises (propositions or statements) validly imply a conclusion, or the main point that the argument aims to get across. For example, knowing that all men are mortal (major premise), and that Socrates is a man (minor premise), we may validly conclude that Socrates is mortal. Syllogistic arguments are usually represented in a three-line form: