How to Understand Syllogisms

A syllogism is a logical argument composed of three parts: the major premise, the minor premise, and the conclusion inferred from the premises. The following steps will help you understand syllogisms.

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1. 1 Know the basic structure of syllogisms. A syllogism has three parts: major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. Each part is composed of two categorical terms, linked in the form "Some/all A is/are [not] B." Each of the premises has one term in common with the conclusion: the major term in the major premise, which forms the predicate of the conclusion, and the minor term in the minor premise, which forms the subject of the conclusion. The categorical term in common in the premises is called the "middle term". For example: Major premise: All birds are animals. Minor premise: All parrots are birds. Conclusion: All parrots are animals. In this example, "animal" is the major term and predicate of the conclusion, "parrot" is the minor term and subject of the conclusion, and "bird" is the middle term.

2. 2 Think of each term as representing a category. For example, "animal" is a category composed of everything that can be described as an animal.

3. 3 Understand each part is expressed as "Some/all/no A is/are [not] B," with four possible variation. The universal affirmative (symbolized as A) is expressed as "all A is/are B," abbreviated as AaB. The universal negative (symbolized as E) is expressed as "no A is/are B," abbreviated as AeB. The particular affirmative (symbolized as I) is expressed as "some A is/are B," abbreviated as AiB. The particular negative (symbolized as O) is expressed as "some A is/are not B," abbreviated as AoB.

4. 4 Determine the figure of the syllogism. Depending on whether the middle term serves as subject or predicate in the premises, a syllogism may be classified as one of four possible figures:

First figure: The middle term serves as subject in the major premise and predicate in the minor premise. Thus, first figure take the form: Major premise: M-P..........e.g., "All birds are animals" Minor premise: S-M..........e.g., "All parrots are birds" Conclusion:......S-P..........e.g., "All parrots are animals".

Second figure: The middle term serves as predicate in the major premise and predicate in the minor premise. Thus, first figure take the form: Major premise: P-M..........e.g., "No foxes are birds" Minor premise: S-M..........e.g., "All parrots are birds" Conclusion:......S-P..........e.g., "No parrots are foxes".

Third figure: The middle term serves as subject in the major premise and subject in the minor premise. Thus, first figure take the form: Major premise: M-P..........e.g., "All birds are animals" Minor premise: M-S..........e.g., "All birds are mortals" Conclusion:......S-P..........e.g., "Some mortals are animals".

Fourth figure: The middle term serves as predicate in the major premise and subject in the minor premise. Thus, first figure take the form: Major premise: P-M..........e.g., "No birds are cows" Minor premise: M-S..........e.g., "All cows are animals" Conclusion:......S-P..........e.g., "Some animals are not birds".

5. 5 Determine whether a given syllogism is valid: by checking to see if it fits into one of the valid forms of syllogism for the given figure. A syllogism is valid if and only if the conclusion necessarily follows the premises, i.e., if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Although there are 256 possible forms (4 possible variations (a, e, i, o) for each part, three parts (major premise, minor premise, conclusion), and four figures, so 4*4*4*4=256) of syllogism, only 19 of them are valid. The valid forms for each figure is given below, with their mnemonic names (each containing three vowels specifying the form of the part (a, e, i, o) in order of major premise, minor premise, conclusion):

First figure has 4 valid forms: Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferio

Barbara (AAA): for example, All birds are animals. All parrots are birds. All parrots are animals. Celarent (EAE): for example, No birds are foxes. All parrots are birds. No parrots are foxes. Darii (AII): for example, All dogs are animals. Some mammals are dogs. Some mammals are animals. Ferio (EIO): for example, No dogs are birds. Some mammals are dogs. Some mammals are not birds.

Second figure has 4 valid forms: Cesare, Camestres, Festino, Baroco

Cesare (EAE): for example, No foxes are birds. All parrots are birds. No parrots are foxes.

Camestres (AEE): for example, All foxes are animals. No trees are animals. No trees are foxes. Festino (EIO): for example, No restaurant food is healthy. Some recipes are healthy. Some recipes are not restaurant foods. Baroco (AOO): for example, All liars are evil-doers. Some doctors are not evil-doers. Some doctors are not liars.

Third figure has 6 valid forms: *Darapti, Disamis, Datisi, Felapton, Bocardo, Ferison

Darapti (AAI): for example, All men are fallible. All men are animals. Some animals are fallible. Disamis (IAI): for example, Some books are precious.

All books are perishable. Some perishable things are precious.

Datisi (AII): for example, All books are imperfect. Some books are informative. Some informative things are imperfect. Felapton (EAO): for example, No snakes are good to eat. All snakes are animals. Some animals are not good to eat. Bocardo (OAO): for example, Some websites are not helpful. All websites are internet resources. Some internet resources are not helpful. Ferison (EIO): for example, No lepers are allowed to enter the church. All lepers are human. Some humans are not allowed to enter the church.

Fourth figure has 5 valid forms: Bramantip, Camenes, Dimaris, Fesapo, Fresison

Bramantip (AAI): for example, All pigs are unclean. All unclean things are best avoided. Some things that are best avoided are pigs. Camenes (AEE): for example, All trees are plants. No plants are birds. No birds are trees. Dimaris (IAI): for example, Some evil doers are lawyers. All lawyers are human. Some humans are evil doers. Fesapo (EAO): for example, No meals are free. All free things are desirable. Some desirable things are not meals. Fresison (EIO): for example, No dogs are birds. Some birds are pets. Some pets are not dogs.