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You said: aristotle we had nothing to say of syllogizing beforearistotle we had nothing to say of syllogizing before
[Aristotle](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=%2Fm%2F0gz_&q=Aristotle) wrote this famous reflection at the very end of his work Sophistical Refutations (Sophistici Elenchi), concluding his collection of logical treatises known as the Organon. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVJ7lLxTzlKj-RUbOMR0M82hev5LtW9XLcc_4En5gQ4apMsmNA6k5EMHk8mjpS_zMO9h94WsIyHVCGinQyMT0xGgrsW2KazSg8ZTSWkJL2SspW_w0enHREoTeyZkiOlncRkFeFxIlvQtuHg9AvPWU)]
In this closing passage, he proudly points out that while other subjects (like rhetoric) had a long history of foundational work he could build upon, he had to invent the study of formal deduction (the syllogism) entirely from scratch. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVJ7lLxTzlKj-RUbOMR0M82hev5LtW9XLcc_4En5gQ4apMsmNA6k5EMHk8mjpS_zMO9h94WsIyHVCGinQyMT0xGgrsW2KazSg8ZTSWkJL2SspW_w0enHREoTeyZkiOlncRkFeFxIlvQtuHg9AvPWU)]
The exact quote, in a common English translation, reads:
"Of the present inquiry, on the other hand, it was not the case that part of the work had been thoroughly done before, while part had not. Nothing existed at all… On the subject of deduction [syllogizing] we had absolutely nothing else of an earlier date to mention, but were kept at work for a long time in experimental researches." [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVJ7lLxTzlKj-RUbOMR0M82hev5LtW9XLcc_4En5gQ4apMsmNA6k5EMHk8mjpS_zMO9h94WsIyHVCGinQyMT0xGgrsW2KazSg8ZTSWkJL2SspW_w0enHREoTeyZkiOlncRkFeFxIlvQtuHg9AvPWU)]
Why Aristotle Made This Claim

* The Invention of Formal Logic: Before Aristotle, philosophers like Plato and the Sophists argued using logic implicitly, but no one had analyzed the structure of arguments. Aristotle isolated the mechanics of reasoning into what we now call syllogistic logic—the process of deriving a necessary conclusion from two premises (e.g., All humans are mortal; Socrates is human; therefore, Socrates is mortal).
* Contrasting Rhetoric: In the same passage, Aristotle notes that teachers of rhetoric (like Gorgias) simply gave their students ready-made speeches to memorize. Aristotle wanted to give his students the actual system or tool (Organon) to evaluate any argument's validity on their own. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESaAHrOzAVq9zfIZB78MI4fQel-SiWrSXR6KptGAtriI7XWhko1I2rLUkLAFNFPU_pagTmNKn3F5f-GCJxMKUtY5IxjOAeFmlLhNz9qqRaYJOxuHLq95nNfCac_klJgQa7Y20fMeoYSDCP), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESXwHrOzAVk9vu6VTv87Xet-tHS3f6L61nKVH0BnCoSAcs_wRivAxkvgBhORMcLTdO4n3Jh_Q74XLC88KYrrYwwGy_cdpErf67AVUDEg7x3P6RkPayfVMRFWtZm_esriK3), [3](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESewHrOzAVriW2aGh8AfGjRNz-FiqJ94xY4Gms07jCmKhsx2MFNsKkEpFbRDblR0iiijhR6OIuTADfcMdlKrEO-ev3iGI4VWhCd1UIzqqLsfkknkyXKD4RFvJc-snDBIIUYOEG-UzsDmguSKez_ITjSNjMzVmBXbFXa0wZWA), [4](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVJ7lLxTzlKj-RUbOMR0M82hev5LtW9XLcc_4En5gQ4apMsmNA6k5EMHk8mjpS_zMO9h94WsIyHVCGinQyMT0xGgrsW2KazSg8ZTSWkJL2SspW_w0enHREoTeyZkiOlncRkFeFxIlvQtuHg9AvPWU)]

Would you like to explore how Aristotle defined the rules of the syllogism in his Prior Analytics, or are you interested in how his logical works were grouped together by later scholars? [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESXwHrOzAVk9vu6VTv87Xet-tHS3f6L61nKVH0BnCoSAcs_wRivAxkvgBhORMcLTdO4n3Jh_Q74XLC88KYrrYwwGy_cdpErf67AVUDEg7x3P6RkPayfVMRFWtZm_esriK3), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVJ7lLxTzlKj-RUbOMR0M82hev5LtW9XLcc_4En5gQ4apMsmNA6k5EMHk8mjpS_zMO9h94WsIyHVCGinQyMT0xGgrsW2KazSg8ZTSWkJL2SspW_w0enHREoTeyZkiOlncRkFeFxIlvQtuHg9AvPWU)]
Britannica
History of logic - Aristotle, Syllogism, Deduction | Britannica
... of the work had been thoroughly done before, while part had not. Nothing existed at all….[O]n the subject of deduction we had absolutely nothing else of an ...
Wikipedia
Syllogism - Wikipedia
In its earliest form (defined by Aristotle in his 350 BC book Prior Analytics), a deductive syllogism arises when two true premises (propositions or statements)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Aristotle's Logic - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Mar 18, 2000 — Aristotle's logic, especially his theory of the syllogism, has had an unparalleled influence on the history of Western thought.
YouTube·Ayn Rand Institute
5m
Aristotle: The Father of Logic by Leonard Peikoff, part 15 of 50
Study.com
Syllogism Definition, Types & Examples - Lesson - Study.com
The most famous formal logic syllogism is about Aristotle himself. Premise one: All humans are mortal. Premise two: Aristotle is human. Conclusion: Aristotle is...