Morality in Aristotle’s teachings on logic and reasoning

The choice of a method in #logic determines all other choices in your life. It determines the scope and depth of your thinking, your concept of #happiness , your drive and your steadfastness. In contrast to other systems of logic, the one delineated by #aristotle (384-322 BC) understands the importance of purpose and gives a central role in how conclusions are drawn. When looking at entities and events, Aristotelian #logic is not only asking how or why. It looks beyond the obvious and aims at clarifying the context. In his work “Metaphysics,” Aristotle recommended to study entities and events by looking at their constituent ingredients (“material cause”), at their shape (“formal cause”), at the force that moves them (“efficient cause”) and especially at their goal (“final cause”). The latter element constitutes a unique characteristic of the Aristotelian method of logic. When you draw conclusions from premises, you employ a middle term. You employ an element that is shared by both premises, a key element that stands “in the middle,” so to speak. However, the middle term is not always easy to find. This is where Aristotle’s theory of #causality comes to help. By looking at the material, formal, efficient, and final cause, you will stand much better chances of finding the middle term. In ethical or moral questions, Aristotle gave heavier weight to the final cause, that is, to the purpose. It’s wise to investigate someone’s #motivation and intentions before passing judgement on his actions. Humans don’t function like machines. We are not robots that carry out a program without asking themselves any questions. I regard Aristotelian logic as vastly superior to all others because it places so much emphasis on understanding the #purpose . Unfortunately, after Aristotle’s death, most logicians lost all interest in investigating the final cause; logic became ritualistic and formulaic. It was all about connecting A to B as quickly as possible, without having grasped the underlying motivation. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/morality-in-aristotles-teachings-on-logic-and-reasoning/