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A depiction from the 15th century of the square of opposition, which expresses the
fundamental dualities of syllogistic.
Main article: Aristotelian logic
The Organon was Aristotle's body of work on logic, with the Prior Analytics
constituting the first explicit work in formal logic, introducing the syllogistic.
[27] The parts of syllogistic logic, also known by the name term logic, are the
analysis of the judgements into propositions consisting of two terms that are
related by one of a fixed number of relations, and the expression of inferences by
means of syllogisms that consist of two propositions sharing a common term as
premise, and a conclusion that is a proposition involving the two unrelated terms
from the premises.
Aristotle's work was regarded in classical times and from medieval times in Europe
and the Middle East as the very picture of a fully worked out system. However, it
was not alone: the Stoics proposed a system of propositional logic that was studied
by medieval logicians. Also, the problem of multiple generality was recognized in
medieval times. Nonetheless, problems with syllogistic logic were not seen as being
in need of revolutionary solutions.
Today, some academics claim that Aristotle's system is generally seen as having
little more than historical value (though there is some current interest in
extending term logics), regarded as made obsolete by the advent of propositional
logic and the predicate calculus. Others use Aristotle in argumentation theory to
help develop and critically question argumentation schemes that are used in
artificial intelligence and legal arguments.
Propositional logic[edit]
Main article: Propositional calculus
A propositional calculus or logic (also a sentential calculus) is a formal system
in which formulae representing propositions can be formed by combining atomic
propositions using logical connectives, and in which a system of formal proof rules
establishes certain formulae as "theorems". An example of a theorem of
propositional logic is {\displaystyle A\rightarrow B\rightarrow A} {\displaystyle
A\rightarrow B\rightarrow A}, which says that if A holds, then B implies A.
Predicate logic[edit]