Book: Aristotle on False Reasoning

Got it! This site "creationpie.com" uses cookies. You consent to this by clicking on "Got it!" or by continuing to use this website. Note: This appears on each machine/browser from which this site is accessed.

The book "Aristotle on False Reasoning" by Scott G. Schreiber is a commentary and reference on Aristotle's Sophistic Refutations.

Reference: Aristotle on False Reasoning: Language and the World in the Sophistical Refutations. Scott G. Schreiber. State University of New York Press. 2003. ISBN 0-7914-5660-9.

More: Aristotle

In starting through the book, I have found it very useful (as of 2023-03-18). Interestingly, Schreiber takes issue with some of Aristotle's statements. To me, those statements of Aristotle appear to be directly taken from a graduate computer science course in the foundations of programming language theory and/or computation. For now, that is a small quibble since few have studied those modern areas in detail. That is a future topic to be added here at some point in time.

Details are left as a future topic.

Aristotle wrote a book called On Sophistic Refutations in which he detailed the "false reasoning" used by Sophists (from the Greek word for "wisdom") who would use invalid logic to convince others of ideas to make money for themselves. In English, "sophistic" logic or "false reasoning" is "sophistry".

One of the many types of invalid logic detailed by Aristotle was "eristic" reasoning. Paul uses that word often but it is often translated, without the "bad logic" connection, as "strife"

More: Eristic reasoning creates strife and contention

More: Aristotle

On page 2, Schreiber elaborates on "peirastic" reasoning as distinguished by Aristotle.

... he (Aristotle) distinguishes another type of reasoning called "peirastic" (πειραστικός) or examinational reasoning. Peirastic proceeds from some belief of the person being examined. ... (1) it must be believed by the person being examined ... and (2) it need not be an endoxon (i.e., it may be an entirely idiosyncratic belief) ...

Aristotle's clarification of the word fits the "temptations" of Jesus in the Gospels. The ancient Greek word "πειράζω" ≈ "examine" and is often translated in the KJV (King James Version) as "tempt". The modern idea of the Greek "temptation" is that of an interview where one examines someone about things they know or believe they know.

More: Matthew 4:1-11, 6:13: Examining evil temptations

More: Do not mention temptations nor attempt to be a pirate