CLASSICAL LOGIC

JAN GRESIL S. KAHAMBING

The Nature of Logic
 Etymology: Greek Λογικε Logike (treatise), Λογοσ Logos
(word)
 Working Definition: the philosophical science of correct
reasoning.
 Also known as:
 inferential thinking
 the science of demonstration (to engender certainty)
 the Organon, the universal rational instrument for the
acquisition of philosophical knowledge.
 Main instrument to push philosophical frontiers,
because it equips the mind with knowledgeability for
making correct inferences people make regarding
abstract issues.
 The Organon of Aristotle
 Labeled by the Peripatetics; Standard collection of Aristotle’s works on Logic
 Modern Organon – Six books Medieval Organon – Eight books
Books
 Categories
 On Interpretation
 Prior Analytics
Modern Organon
 Posterior Analytics
Medieval Organon
 Topics
 Sophistical Refutations
 Rhetoric
 Poetics
 The Organon of Aristotle
Books
 Categories – (of being: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time,
situation, condition, action, and passion)
 On Interpretation – proposition and judgment; square of oppositions
 Prior Analytics – syllogistic method
 Posterior Analytics – demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge
 Topics – inference, probability, predicables (10 categoreis)
 Sophistical Refutations – logical fallacies
 Rhetoric – art of persuasion or ‘winning the soul through discourse’ (cf. Plato)
 Poetics – poetry as ‘making’ – drama: comedy, tragedy, satyr play, lyric and
epic poetry
The Nature of Logic

 Material Object: concepts and its structures

(propositions, syllogisms as mental products)
 Formal Object: inferential functions of concepts
and propositions relations/reasons (they exist in
the mind)
 Subject Matter: covers both the words and the
relationships between them.
 TYPES/DIVISIONS:
 A. Formal and Material
 « Formal – discusses the conceptual patterns or
structures needed for correct and valid inference
 « Material – dwells with the material/s needed to
perform demonstration; pertain to terms and premises
 B. Formal and Dialectics
 « Formal – focuses on thought, treatise in matters
pertaining to thought (Ideas and Propositions)
 « Dialectics – treatise on argumentation and disputation
(Inference and Syllogism)
 TYPES/DIVISIONS:
 C. Deductive and Inductive
 « Deductive – inferential/thinking process that begins
with the universal down to the particular
 « Inductive – thinking that begins with the
 particular to the universal.
 D. Classical and Symbolic
 1. Classical – formal logic, (Aristotelico - Thomistic)
 2. Symbolic – axiomatic (Modern to Anglo-American)
 Ways/Kinds of Thinking
Logic primarily deals with deductive reasoning – drawing
conclusions from premises, attaining certainty

Upwards – discover general laws and

Circular – meditate principles from individual instances
about something

Backwards – Forward – New

Recollection/ THINKING Knowledge
Remembering
Sidewise (left or right) – Sequential
statement of one alternative to the other Diagonalwise –
analogous comparisons
of particulars
Downwards – drawing
Stationary –
contemplate and
conclusions from
marvel at the truth principles of deduction
 The Framework: Formal Logic
ADVANTAGES: WHY FORMAL AND ARISTOTELICO LOGIC?
• HUMANISTIC IN CHARACTER. Reasoning comes from man, in his attempt to
provide sense in life and his world.
• Pedagogy: advantageous in teaching students from the Humanities, Fine
Arts and Social Sciences.
• Curriculum: provides a paradigm that is consistent with the usual
presentation of basic Philosophy Classes: Philosophy of the Human Person
and Ethical Systems.
• Never a passé. A paradigm that is ever timely and timeless. Unchanging in
substance, flexible in expression.