Key ideas in Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning

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John Vespasian

261 episodes

1 day ago

JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of eighteen books, including “When everything fails, try this” (2009), “Rationality is the way to happiness” (2009), “The philosophy of builders” (2010), “The 10 principles of rational living” (2012), “Rational living, rational working” (2013), “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief” (2014), “On becoming unbreakable” (2015), “Thriving in difficult times” (2016), “Causality: Aristotle’s life and ideas” (2024), “Foresight: Schopenhauer’s life and ideas” (2024), and "Constancy: Michel de Montaigne's life and ideas" (2025).

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Key ideas in Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning

John Vespasian

6 minutes 42 seconds

3 days ago

Key ideas in Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning

The philosophy of logic and reason developed by Aristotle (384-322 BC) is different from computer logic, religious logic, and other types of logic that have existed in history. There are three distinct features that render Aristotelian logic unique. I’m going to present those three features, one by one. First, Aristotelian logic is linked to language. I would go even further and specify that it is linked to human language. Humans have ways of thinking that are very different from those of computers. We can place statements in a psychological or ethical context, and draw extremely accurate conclusions from sketchy evidence. The fact that Aristotelian logic is based on human language should be regarded as a strength, not as a weakness. I certainly do not share the views of Ramon Llull (1232–1315) who wrote a complete treatise (“Ars Magna”) favouring a non-ambiguous system of logic based on quasi-mathematical formulae. Llull was attacking the imprecision of Aristotelian logic; his argument is that human language is often imprecise and cannot be trusted. Llull proposed to replace language with an array of symbols similar to today’s commands in computer programs. If we follow Llull’s proposal, we would reduce the areas in which logic can be used. Llull’s proposal would cut down by ninety per cent the fields where logic is currently applied. Why on earth would anybody want to do that? Even if the remaining ten per cent of conclusions becomes perfectly exact, the loss is huge. How are we supposed to make decisions in everyday life without logic? Llull was naïve in his belief that, by eliminating natural language, he would improve the situation. Second, human logic can deal with imprecision. Aristotle’s method of drawing conclusions is nothing but a mirror of how the human mind works. It is the way we formulate conclusions a hundred times a day. We automatically compare, combine, and re-combine facts to guide our actions in all circumstances. In most cases, we don’t need precise facts or conclusions. A cook can vary the recipe and still prepare a tasty dish. Lawyers can draw up contracts by using different wordings to the same effect. Chess players can invert the order of their moves, but still arrive at the same position. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-most-crucial-teachings-on-logic-and-reasoning/