IS ARISTOTLE THE FATHER OF LOGIC?
(Name)
(University)
Is Aristotle the Father of Logic?
I believe so. Aristotle became known as the Father of Logic by demonstrating that logic was more than just an equivalent to verbal reasoning but an important tool of investigation, a way to learn everything about everything. He was the first to introduce scientific thought into daily processes. Even today, with hundreds of advances in technology and available resources, scientists find that observations he had documented two-thousand years ago are correct. For twenty years Aristotle studied with Plato and became a prominent figure at his academy. But yet after so many years of collaboration between the two, many people including Plato’s nephew Speusippus believed that Aristotle’s ideals varied greatly from Platos and indeed they did. Plato presumed that the “ideal” form of an person or animal is the result of a “sensory” world and that every man knew and understood his place in life. Whereas Aristotle believed that the “form” consisted of several characteristics together as a whole, which eventually was proven and known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) as well as believing that a man should create his own place in the world. Consequently, Aristotle left the academy after Plato’s death. Several years later he developed his own school known as the Lyceum at which he taught for thirteen years in a rather peculiar fashion. His lectures were offered to those that were willing to listen as he paced up and down the peripatos outside the school. His works included a vast array of subject matter including physics, biology, psychology, politics and more. In the subject of Logic, he developed the foundation of categories, a way to classify each element of an argument. He further demonstrated that the core of logical thought is a sequence of three propositions in which the first and second imply
References: O 'Flaherty, S (2000) Aristotle: The First Scientist http://philosophy.sean.tripod.com/id17.htm Garth Kemerling (1996-2006) The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2008) Syllogism http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/syllogism.aspx#1E1-syllogis Grolier Publishing Company, Inc (2003)