6 - Aristotle’s Syllogistic and Other Ancient Logical Traditions

Summary

This chapter argues that Aristotle’s syllogistic emerged from a dialectical matrix as well as from considerations pertaining to scientific demonstration and demonstration in mathematics. This means that, even early on, non-dialogical components motivated and were integrated into theories and practices of deduction. The chapter also briefly discusses two other formidable ancient intellectual traditions and their reflections on logic and reasoning, namely the Indian tradition and the Chinese tradition. It is argued that, while these were indeed highly sophisticated, fully-fledged theories of deduction are not to be found in classical Indian or classical Chinese thought.