Aristotle's logical works laid the foundation for Western logic. The Organon, his collection of six treatises, introduced key concepts like categories, predicables, and syllogisms. These works shaped how we analyze arguments and classify knowledge.

Aristotelian logic centers on terms, propositions, and reasoning forms. It explores how subjects and predicates relate, how to quantify statements, and how to construct valid arguments through syllogisms. This system still influences modern logical thinking.

Aristotle's Logical Works

The Organon and Categories

• Organon encompasses Aristotle's six logical treatises forming the foundation of Western logic
• Categories serves as the first book of the Organon, analyzing basic classes of existence
• Categories introduces ten fundamental types of predicates (substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, state, action, affection)
• Organon includes other important works (On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, Sophistical Refutations)

Predicables and their Significance

• Predicables represent five ways a predicate can be related to its subject
• Genus denotes a class to which a species belongs (animal)
• Species identifies a subclass within a genus (human)
• Difference distinguishes one species from others within the same genus (rational)
• Property indicates a unique characteristic of a species (capable of laughter)
• Accident refers to a non-essential attribute that may or may not belong to a subject (tall)

Components of Aristotelian Logic

Fundamental Elements of Logical Statements

• Term functions as the basic unit of Aristotelian logic, representing a word or phrase that forms part of a proposition
• Proposition consists of a statement that can be either true or false
• Subject denotes the entity about which something is predicated in a proposition
• Predicate represents what is said about the subject in a proposition

Quantification in Logical Propositions

• Universal propositions make claims about all members of a class (All humans are mortal)
• Particular propositions make claims about some members of a class (Some birds can fly)
• Universal affirmative propositions take the form "All A are B"
• Universal negative propositions take the form "No A are B"
• Particular affirmative propositions take the form "Some A are B"
• Particular negative propositions take the form "Some A are not B"

Forms of Reasoning

Syllogistic Logic

• Syllogism represents a form of deductive reasoning consisting of two premises and a conclusion
• Major premise contains the major term and the middle term (All mammals are warm-blooded)
• Minor premise contains the minor term and the middle term (All dogs are mammals)
• Conclusion connects the major term and the minor term (Therefore, all dogs are warm-blooded)
• Valid syllogisms guarantee the truth of the conclusion if the premises are true

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

• Deduction moves from general principles to specific conclusions
• Deductive arguments aim to provide certainty in their conclusions
• Induction proceeds from specific observations to general principles
• Inductive arguments offer probability rather than certainty in their conclusions
• Deduction applies general rules to particular instances (All metals conduct electricity; copper is a metal; therefore, copper conducts electricity)
• Induction generalizes from observed instances to universal statements (These swans are white; therefore, all swans might be white)