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Is modern logic non-aristotelian?

Jean-Yves Béziau

pp. 19-41

In this paper we examine up to which point Modern logic can be qualified as non-Aristotelian. After clarifying the difference between logic as reasoning and logic as a theory of reasoning, we compare syllogistic with propositional and first-order logic. We touch the question of formal validity, variable and mathematization and we point out that Gentzen's cut-elimination theorem can be seen as the rejection of the central mechanism of syllogistic – the cut-rule having been first conceived as a ">modus Barbara by Hertz. We then examine the non-Aristotelian aspect of some non-classical logics, in particular paraconsistent logic. We argue that a paraconsistent negation can be seen as neo-Aristotelian since it corresponds to the notion of subcontrary in Boethius' square of opposition. We end by examining if the comparison promoted by Vasiliev between non-Aristotelian logic and non-Euclidian geometry makes sense.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-66162-9_3

Full citation:

Béziau, J.-Y. (2017)., Is modern logic non-aristotelian?, in V. Markin & D. Zaitsev (eds.), The logical legacy of Nikolai Vasiliev and modern logic, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 19-41.

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