Aristotle’s Philosophy of Logic
Aristotle is one of the earliest philosophers to have studied logic. Aristotle developed a logic system that would guide a person to the truth. He used logic to find meaning. Aristotle’s first work, the Logical System of Aristotle, was a revolutionary in the field. It changed the way people thought.
Aristotle’s reasoning is constructed in such a way that one can derive new knowledge from syllogisms. A syllogism, or logical argument, is one that uses two premises to reach a logical conclusion. An argument’s premise is its foundation. To use a Syllogism, you must deduce. It is easiest to demonstrate the concept using formal logic. Aristotle developed two types, formal and informal logic. As its name implies, formal logic deals with logical statements in their proper form. In this case, deduction is used. This is a classic example of formal logical reasoning. Aristotle described deduction as a “speech or logos” in which, after certain things are assumed, they must be different than the results that were supposed. Aristotle Logic 1 states that as long you use the correct form, and base your reasoning on the truths you know, you must reach the same conclusion. Note that formal logic does not consider the truth or falsity of a given statement. The emphasis on the correctness in form is due to the fact that formal logic only deals with form. The argument is valid if the form is used correctly.
Substantive logic adds context to formal logic, which is purely concerned with form. I refer to context as the real world premise that is applied to an argument form. You could use the above formal logic example to insert context in numbers. For instance: 0 = 1, 1 = 2, 0 = 2. The argument is valid because we know the form to use, but it’s the truthfulness of the premises that matters. Anyone who knows mathematics will know that this statement is false. Unsound is a statement which uses a correct form and false premises. A valid argument with true premises is sound.
It is easy to see the application of logic and its benefits. Everyone who is capable of critical thinking can benefit from logic. When one has a good grasp of logic, they can evaluate logic statements. It is an important part of being able to think critically and reach the truth of any statement. You can use logic to identify a lie in an argument with a partner. In the sciences logic is more useful than in everyday life. This ability to tell fact from fiction lies within logic. Aristotle’s principles of first order are crucial to applying logic to science.
In order to make science work, it is necessary that certain things are accepted as truths. Aristotle’s First Principles are intended to facilitate this. Imagine what science would look like if no one could accept anything as truth, no logic would exist. Aristotle’s principles are based on the following criteria: First, they have to be self-evident. Second, they can’t be proved. And third, they need to fundamental. Aristotle divides the first principles into four logic principles: identity, excluded middle, sufficient reason, and contradiction. These four fundamental principles form the basis for all logic.
Identity is the principle that governs our recognition of objects. Our senses help us to identify certain objects. A banana’s identity is determined by its yellowness, shape, scent and taste. Objects meeting certain criteria will be identified as this object. According to the identity principle, any other object that meets the criteria is also considered that object. It is crucial because this is how we determine what something is.
The second principle addresses half-truths. In a nutshell, there’s no half truth. A statement cannot be half-true or true. It can either be true or not true. If you were to use the word ‘almost,’ then it would not be true, as they don’t meet the requirements of being the thing.
Cause is the third principle in logic. According to the principle, nothing can exist by itself. Everything must have had a beginning.
Contradiction is dealt with in the fourth logic principle, which is called the principle contradiction. This principle states simply that nothing can contradict itself. Two identities for the same object are not possible. Apples cannot have two identities at once. This is a simple way to prove a false argument by contradicting the claims.
These principles provide the basis for logic as they enable us to establish premises. Let us use a hypothetical example to establish the premise “A”, we first need A’s identity. If A’s meaning is unclear, it will be impossible to establish. A must be either A or it isn’t. A can’t almost be A. Then we prove that A exists with the understanding of A having a cause. This is done using the principle sufficient reasoning. Last, we establish A is A and only A. Here, we use contradiction. With the help of four logic principles, we were able to create a presupposition that can be used in an argument. A sound argument cannot be proved without a premise, making logic unreliable.
The application to logic raises the larger philosophical questions. It’s a good question to ask whether logic can be used to find truth. Some say that logic does determine truth. I disagree. Aristotle’s four logic principles are the basis for Aristotle’s definition of truth. I take issue with these four principles. First, establish the object’s identity. I believe that truth is only a reflection. By establishing the identities for all of their worlds, a certain group creates a system that measures every truth only in relation to what they have established. The truth is therefore limited and only represents a fraction, not the whole truth. It is possible to claim that something is the ultimate truth, but it is impossible to state that this is true. Aristotle’s truth is only as good as our ability to comprehend it.
