Ancient Philosophy

Aristotle

What is a syllogism?

According to Aristotle, a classic syllogism has a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. If the major and minor premises are true, then it is not possible for the conclusion to be false; the conclusion must be true. For example, “All men are mortal” is a major premise. “Socrates is a man” is a minor premise. And “Socrates is mortal” is the conclusion.