A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 8 -In the Talmud, continued1. Natural, conventional or revealed?2. Measure for measure3. The dayo principle in formal terms4. The human element5. Qal vachomer without dayo6. Three additional Gemara arguments7. Assessment of the Talmud’s logic8. The syllogistic Midot9. Historical questionsThe present chapter is a continuation of the preceding, aimed at further clarifying some [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 25 - Abraham, Gabbay and Schild1. Their opinion of past work2. Their erroneous basic premise3. Some errors of logic4. Mixing apples and oranges5. Quid pro quoMichael Abraham (or Avraham), Dov Gabbay and Uri Schild have, in 2009, together written two long papers relating to a fortiori argument, namely: “Analysis of the Talmudic [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 7 -A fortiori in the Talmud1. Brief history of a fortiori2. A brief course in the relevant logic3. A fresh analysis of the Mishna Baba Qama 2:54. A logician’s reading of Numbers 12:14-155. A critique of the Gemara in Baba Qama 25a6. A slightly different reading of the Gemara1.Brief history of a [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 24 - Lenartowicz and Koszteyn1. The form of the argument2. The dayo principle3. Epistemic substitution1.The form of the argumentPiotr Lenartowicz SJ and Jolanta Koszteyn, in their paper “On Paley, Epagogé, Technical Mind andA FortioriArgumentation” (Cracow, 2002)[1]refer to and comment on my theory of a fortiori argument inJudaic Logic. I would like here [...]
A FORTIORI LOGIC CHAPTER 6 - A fortiori in Greece and RomeA FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 6 -A fortiori in Greece and Rome1. Aristotle’s observations2. The Kneales’ list3. Aristotle in practice4. Relation to syllogism5. Cicero6. Alexander of Aphrodisias7. Historical questions1.Aristotle’s observationsLooking at the sayings or writings of ancient Greek philosophers – Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Pythogoras, Philolaus, [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 23 - Alexander Samely1. General definition2. Descriptive formula3. Three alleged techniques4. Bava Kamma 25a-b5. Samely’s online database6. My critical researchesAlexander Samely published in 2002 a book calledRabbinic Interpretation of Scripture in the Mishnah, in which one chapter is devoted to a fortiori argument[1]. According to the Google Books blurb, “This volume offers [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICAppendix 7 -SOME LOGIC TOPICS OF GENERAL INTEREST1. About modern symbolic logic2. The triviality of the existential import doctrine3. The vanity of the tetralemma4. The Liar paradox (redux)5. The Russell paradox (redux)Although the present work is not a general study of logic, but essentially restricted to a fortiori logic, I have in the [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 22 - Hyam Maccoby1. Purely a fortiori argument2. A crescendo argument3. Baba Qama 25a4. Faulty qal vachomerHyam Maccoby (Britain, 1924-2004) wrote some interesting comments regarding a fortiori argumentation in the Talmud in one of his last works,The Philosophy of the Talmud(2002)[1]. The relevant parts of this – namely, chapter 14, “Talmudic Logic,” [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICCHAPTER 5 -COMPARISONS AND CORRELATIONS1. Analogical argument2. Is a fortiori argument syllogism?3. Correlating arguments4. Structural comparisons5. From syllogism to a fortiori argument6. From a fortiori argument to syllogism7. Reiterating translations8. Lessons learnedWe need to be very clear about the differences between a fortiori argument and other forms of argument, with which a fortiori [...]
A FORTIORI LOGICAppendix 6 - Logic in the TorahThere is evidently quite a bit of logic – inductive as well as deductive – to be found in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible). Although this document aims, of course, primarily to convey narratives (they did this, they said that) and legislation (do this, don’t do that), [...]
