Sophistical Refutations

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On Sophistical Refutations (Greek: Σοφιστικοὶ Ἔλεγχοι; Latin: De Sophisticis Elenchis) is a text in Aristotle's Organon in which he identified thirteen fallacies. ^{[note 1]} According to Aristotle, this is the first work to deal with reasoning in ancient Greece. (Soph. Ref., 34, 183b34 ff.).

Overview[]

On Sophistical Refutations^{[1] [2]} consists of 34 chapters. The book naturally falls in two parts: chapters concerned with tactics for the Questioner (3–8 and 12–15) and chapters concerned with tactics for the Answerer (16–32). Besides, there is an introduction (1–2), an interlude (9–11), and a conclusion (33–34). ^[3]

The following points are from this book:

• The sophistic refutations, i.e. what appear to be refutations but are really fallacies instead. For the art of the sophist is the semblance of wisdom without the reality, and the sophist is one who makes money from an apparent but unreal wisdom.
• According to Aristotle, of arguments in dialogue form there are four classes: Didactic, Dialectical, Examination-arguments, and Contentious arguments. (The arguments used in competitions and contests are of main subject in this book.)

Fallacies identified[]

The fallacies Aristotle identifies in Chapter 4 of this book are the following:

Fallacies in the language (in dictione)

1. Equivocation
2. Amphibology
3. Composition
4. Division
5. Accent
6. Figure of speech or form of expression

Fallacies not in the language (extra dictionem)

Footnotes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Works related to Sophistical Refutations at Wikisource
• HTML Greek text via Greco interattivo
• Translated by W. A. Pickard-Cambridge
• Sophistical Elenchi public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• ChangingMinds.org: "Aristotle's 13 fallacies"
• Parry, William T.; Hacker, Edward A. (1991), Aristotelian Logic, SUNY Press, p. 435, ISBN 978-0-7914-0690-8