The notion of dialectical syllogism in the Aristotle's topics

• Grant number: 15/09883-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Acordo de Cooperação: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Lucas Angioni
• Grantee: Fernando Martins Mendonça
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Aristotle's Topics aims to enable its reader to construct dialectical syllogisms, which are a kind of syllogism, used in a sort of ruled debate. The definition of syllogism in the Topics is similar to the definition given in the Prior Analytics. The connection between these works is now an important subject matter for many scholars and it reveals that the Topics can increase the understanding of Aristotelian logic, even if it elements of syllogistic of the Prior Analytics are not found in the Topic. Despite the interest in this connection, the notion of dialectical syllogism is still disregarded. My aim is to make clear how argumentative patterns (topoi), which are based on a theory of predication, offer means to obtain premises and whether topoi which need to be accepted by the answerer should be taken as premises. I also intent to show how the obscure relation between necessary and non-necessary premises fits the 'Ä÷ ıæı µ6½±¹' clause and how the usage of meta-terms might take place in dialectical syllogism. Moreover, I try to establish and show the common features of the notion of syllogism obtained between the Topics and the Prior Analytics, as they offer a similar definition of syllogism. (AU)