The Aftermath of Syllogism

Reviews / Votes

I enjoyed reading this book. It highlights a part of the theory's history that is less well known, and in some sense it is a history of a decline after the heights it reached in the 14th century. But it is nevertheless an interesting history, which sees the theory playing a somewhat different role, not as a formal logic, but as a theory of reasoning ... I recommend this volume to anyone interested in the history of the theory of syllogisms. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * This volume's main strength lies in its very approach to the history of syllogism, from Avicenna to Hegel. We are not talking of either the large scope of the history of philosophy or the narrow scope of the history of the notion of syllogism; we are talking of the reconstruction of a vital problem over seven centuries of history. We are talking, then, of real and effective Problemgeschichte. * Riccardo Pozzo, Professor, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Italy * To my knowledge, no work exists in English that compares to what The Aftermath of Syllogism achieves and contributes to this area of scholarship. * Seung-Kee Lee, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Drew University, USA * Aristotle casts a long shadow over the history of philosophy. This is especially true of his doctrine of the syllogism, the idea that the core of logical reasoning comes in simple three-sentence arguments, "Socrates is a man, all men are mortal, therefore Socrates is mortal." The history of logic well into the nineteenth century is the history of reactions to this conception of reasoning, for and against. In this excellent book, the editor has assembled a series of essays by distinguished scholars directed at moments of particular importance in the history of the syllogism, both advocates and opponents, from the medievals to the nineteenth century. The Aftermath of Syllogism is a very welcome addition to the literature on the history of logic. * Daniel Garber, Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University, USA *