Aristotle's Modal Syllogistic

Marko Malink

“It is generally reasonable to assume that a philosophical problem for which no one has yet managed to find a solution for over 2000 years is one that will simply end up as a notorious unsolved riddle in the history of philosophy. After a variety of heroic but failed attempts over the past century, it became the consensus view among historians of logic that the interpretation of Aristotle’s modal syllogistic represented a paradigm example of such a case. Until now! Marko Malink’s book presents an interpretation of this crucial branch of Aristotle’s logical theory that is both exegetically plausible and logically consistent. It is a landmark contribution not only to the history of logic, but also to the history of philosophical thought about the nature of predication and modality. No one interested in these topics can afford to ignore it.”—James Conant, University of Chicago

“This book is brimming with bold and original ideas. It deals comprehensively with all issues relevant to the syllogistic and casts significant new light on its subject. It is immensely rich in detailed interpretation of passages from Aristotle’s works. It is argued with clarity and rigor. There is a considerable body of scholarly material dealing with this subject-matter, and this book deals knowledgeably with all the important contributions to the field, both ancient and modern. The technical development is pursued with mathematical subtlety. The book will be suitable, indeed necessary, for anyone doing research into Aristotelian syllogistic, whether at graduate student or advanced researcher level.”—Paul Thom, University of Sydney