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Limits of the aristotelian system

Aristote - 384-322 before J.C.

Aristote was a very important Greek thinker. Its philosophical treaties exerted a major influence on the Western thought. It professed moderation in behaviour and the use of logic as a tool for investigation.

(Paragraph extracted from an 'ordinary' encyclopaedia)

"The language Aristotle inherited was of great antiquity, and originated in periods when knowledge was still more scanty. Being a keen observer, and scientifically and methodologically inclined, he took this language for granted and systematized the modes of speaking. This systematization was called 'logic'." A. Korzybski, Science and Sanity p. 371

Here are the aristotelician system premises:
  1. All that is, is (premise of identity)
  2. Nothing can at the same time be and not be (premise of contradiction)
  3. All must either be or not be (premise of the excluded third)
One can at once see the influence of the linguistic structures related to the verb 'to be', in the formulation of these premises !
From these ' Laws of Thought' follow:
© ESGS, 2001.