
Aristotle's Modal Logic
Essence and Entailment in the Organon
Richard Patterson(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 26. May 1995
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-0-521-45168-0 (ISBN)
Description
Aristotle's Modal Logic, first published in 1995, presents an interpretation of Aristotle's logic by arguing that a proper understanding of the system depends on an appreciation of its connection to the metaphysics. Richard Patterson develops three striking theses in the book. First, there is a fundamental connection between Aristotle's logic of possibility and necessity, and his metaphysics, and that this connection extends far beyond the widely recognised tie to scientific demonstration and relates to the more basic distinction between the essential and accidental properties of a subject. Second, Aristotle's views on modal logic depend in very significant ways on his metaphysics without entailing any sacrifice in rigour. Third, once one has grasped the nature of the relationship, one can understand better certain genuine difficulties in the system of logic and appreciate its strengths in terms of the purposes for which it was created.
Reviews / Votes
"...I find the book valuable in working through the texts and modern interpretations of Aristotle's modal syllogistic." Allan Back, Philosophy in Review "...an important book....His study gives a useful survey of different interpretations of controversial questions about Aristotle's modal syllogistic logic." Leo J. Elders, The Review of MetaphysicsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
3 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
647 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-45168-0 (9780521451680)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
1. Introduction; 2. The Basic Modal Proposition; 3. Syllogisms with Two Necessity Premises; 4. Mixed syllogisms: One Assertoric and One Necessity Premise; 5. Two-way possibilities: some basic preliminaries; 6. Two-way possibility syllogisms; 7. Aristotle's perfect syllogisms; 8. Principles of construction.