Aristotle on the fallacies of combination and division in Sophistici Elenchi 4

Bibliographic Data

ID23196585
AuthorsAnnamaria Schiaparelli (New College, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume24
Issue2
Pages111-129
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory and Philosophy of Logic (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-5340 • E-ISSN: 1464-5149
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0144534031000096145
OpenAlexW2074423364
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited15

This paper discusses the fallacies of combination and division as they are presented by Aristotle in chapter 4 of his Sophistici Elenchi. Aristotle's examples are concise, their discussion is unclear, and it is difficult to distinguish the cases of combination from those of division. I analyse the Aristotelian examples and the interpretations offered so far. I show that these interpretations suffer from a major defect: they fail to identify a common characteristic whereby the Aristotelian examples can be classified as instances of combination or division. In my reconstruction of the examples, I repair this deficiency: I give a single pattern of explanation for the fallacy of combination and another (similar) pattern for the fallacy of division. Thus, it is possible to free Aristotle from the following charges: (i) he did not clearly distinguish between combination and division, and (ii) he reduced combination and division to a single fallacy. My explanation of the fallacies uses the notion of scope of an expression: in modern terminology, the fallacy of combination can be described as ‘fallacy of the wide scope’, the fallacy of division as ‘fallacy of the narrow scope’.

Arithmetic · Division (mathematics) · Epistemology · Fallacy · Linguistics · Scope (computer science) · Terminology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Computer Science · Mathematics · Organic Chemistry Synthesis Methods · Philosophy

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