Sophistical Refutations
work by Aristotle
Sophistical Refutations (Greek: Σοφιστικοὶ Ἔλεγχοι, romanized: Sophistikoi Elenchoi; Latin: De Sophisticis Elenchis) is a text in Aristotle's Organon in which he identified twelve or thirteen fallacies. According to Aristotle, this is the first work to treat the subject of deductive reasoning in ancient Greece (Soph. Ref., 34, 183b34 ff.). In it, he attempts to develop a pattern of sound and genuine reasoning in opposition to the deceptive or misleading "art of sophistry".
Overview
On Sophistical Refutations consists of 34 chapters. The book naturally falls in two parts: chapters concerned with tactics for the Questioner (3–8 and 12–15) and chapters concerned with tactics for the Answerer (16–32). Besides, there is an introduction (1–2), an interlude (9–11), and a conclusion (33–34).
Fallacies identified
The fallacies Aristotle identifies in Chapter 4 (formal fallacies) and 5 (informal fallacies) of this book are the following:
Fallacies in the language or formal fallacies (in dictionem):
Equivocation
Amphiboly
Composition
Division
Accent
Figure of speech or form of expression
Fallacies not in the language or informal fallacies (extra dictionem):
References
Further reading
Gysembergh, Victor (2023). Forgotten Ancient Commentaries on Aristotle's Sphistical Refutations: Fragments of Aspasios, Herminos, Alexander, Syrianos and Philoponos. Boston: De Gruyter.
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