Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning

18/03/2025 6 min Episodio 61

Listen "Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning"

Episode Synopsis

Aristotle (384-322 BC) did not teach ready-made solutions, but methods for solving problems. The purpose of logic is to see beyond the obvious, assess the facts, and draw conclusions that are in line with all available evidence. John Vespasian explains that Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning are presented in his book “Categories” and the twin treatises “Prior Analytics” and “Posterior Analytics.” They outline a method that is easy to grasp, but hard to apply consistently in every area of life. “Categories” is just an introductory work to logic. Its goal is to define terminology to describe the characteristics of objects, plants, animals, and human beings. For instance, Aristotle talks about categories relating to space, time, cause and effect, etc. “Prior Analytics” and “Posterior Analytics” are devoted to a single subject, namely, how to draw correct conclusions from statements and facts. Aristotle uses examples consisting of two statements or facts; he call those examples “premises” and then explains how to assess them and draw an accurate conclusion. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-teachings-on-logic-and-reasoning/