A category-theoretic approach to Aristotle's term logic, with special reference to syllogisms

John Macnamara

pp. 57-68

in: Mathieu Marion, Robert S. Cohen (eds), Québec studies in the philosophy of science, part I, Berlin, Springer, 1995

Abstract

When Aristotle invented logic, what he invented was a logic of terms. The Stoics replaced Aristotle's term variables with propositional ones, and with that propositional logic was born (see [16]). For a long time term logic and propositional logic existed together. For example, William of Ockham [21] devoted the first part of his Summa logicae to terms and the second part to propositions. Perhaps it was Kant who was responsible for the emphasis on propositional logic at the expense of term logic. For where Aristotle had categories of objects and attributes, closely related to the grammatical categories of terms that normally denote them, Kant had categories of concepts. Kant, however, derives categories of concepts from categories of judgments; that is, from categories of propositions. With the move to categories of judgments, term logic in anything like Aristotle's sense drops from view. In this Frege follows Kant and so does what is now called "classical logic". (These remarks were inspired by a comment of F. W. Lawvere.)

Cited authors

Kant Immanuel

Frege Gottlob

Aristoteles