Patriot Act
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English 2 Honors
Period 6
Mrs. ????
March 30, ????
The Classification of Knowledge
Thesis Statement: Aristotle used syllogism, analytical methods, and logic to classify knowledge.
Syllogism
Logical arguments
Supportive reasoning
Logic
Classifying the different sciences
Methods of logic
Analytical Method
Math and Science
Rules and Axioms
Logic and analytical methods in biology
Classification of Animals
Classification of Plants
Is the Earth round? Is the Earth the center of the universe? How can we prove mathematical concepts? What is the difference between animals? How can we answer the questions above? These are just a few of the questions Aristotle wanted answered. He questioned and presented logical explanations of many elements of the world around him. Aristotle set out to find not only solutions to some of worlds concepts, but the proof to back them as well. Aristotle used syllogism, analytical methods, and logic to classify knowledge.
What is syllogism? Syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning. An example of a syllogism: Every Irish person is human. Every human is mortal. Therefore, every Irish person is mortal. Syllogisms can be used in many different situations to prove a theory. Aristotle uses syllogism to prove his theories in many areas (Strathern 32-33).
Aristotle would call each sentence from the above example a proposition, or a sentence considered in respect of its logical features. A syllogism contains three propositions, or three sentences, where the third of the three is the conclusion of the syllogism (Kenny 117). The first two propositions are what Aristotle considers premises. A syllogism such as the one above, where they start with the word every at the beginning of each sentence, is what Aristotle terms a universal proposition. There are two different types of universal propositions Aristotle covers. The first would be for example No Irish are fish, which is referred to as a universal negative. The second would be like the first example Every Irish person is mortal, and is referred to as a universal affirmative.
Aristotle is said to be the founder of the logic (Kenny 117). Logic is said to be the disciple that sorts out good arguments from bad or poor arguments. Aristotle put this logical approach to use in many different areas, one of which was nature. He believed there was so much one could learn from observing nature. Using logic he started to classify the earth. He believed that everything was made up of one of the four elements: earth, water, air or fire. He also accepted the notion that earth was the center of the universe, with the moon, planets, sun and stars all orbiting around the earth in perfect circles.
Logic showed him that each of the four elements always sought to return to their natural place. (“Aristotle Rules of Logic”). For example, a rock would drop to the earth as soon as any obstacles preventing it were removed. Because of the earth elements being denser and heavier, the rock would seek to move downwards towards the center of the planet. He would further explain why a rock would travel though the air first before heading downwards when thrown. This was because air, seeking to close the gap made by the invasion of the rock, would propel it along until it lost its horizontal speed and then the rock would tumble to the ground (“Aristotle Isolates Science”).
He used logic to explain the other elements relationship to the earth. Water elements would float along the surface of the earth. Air would rise above the earth. Fire would seek to rise above them all by leaping in the upward direction (“Aristotle”).
In other science areas Aristotle was more detailed and accurate in his assessment. For example, he reinforced the view that the earth was a sphere. He noticed that every time there was a lunar eclipse, there was an arc shaped shadow of the earth on the moon. Furthermore, he noted correctly that when traveling south or north along the earth, stars moved on the horizon until some gradually disappeared from view. He concluded that this would also be consistent with the earth having the shape of a sphere. (“Aristotle Isolates Science”).
As a formidable student, researcher, teacher, and philosopher in practically all scientific disciplines, Aristotle had a profound impact on the way science and mathematics is practiced today. His analytical method, now known as Aristotelian logic, is the backbone of not only mathematics, but of all the natural sciences.
Aristotle also advanced the study of mathematics by discussing and recording many mathematical concepts and theorems (Ross 3). He used the term analytics for the basis of mathematical study. He also believed that analytical methods could be applied to every branch of science and learning, including mathematics. Analytical methods were essential to developing the axioms, or unshakable rules. “Aristotle called his logic “analytika”, which means unraveling” (Stathern 34). It was this work on scientific method that laid the foundation for the development of a mathematical discipline based on syllogisms and proofs. He introduced