organón

Organon is the traditional name for Aristotle’s collection of logical treatises, compiled and transmitted by the Peripatetic school. The term comes from Greek organon, meaning tool or instrument, reflecting the works’ function as the instruments of reasoning and inquiry. In classical and medieval usage, Organon refers to Aristotle’s framework for logical theory, analysis, and method, rather than to a single book.

The six treatises typically grouped under the Organon are Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, and On Sophistical Refutations. Categories treats the basic kinds of being and the ten categories, including substance, quantity, and relation. On Interpretation examines language, propositions, truth, negation, and the square of opposition. Prior Analytics presents the syllogistic, the formal structure of deductive reasoning, including terms, middle terms, and the figures of syllogisms. Posterior Analytics develops the theory of scientific demonstration, arguing that knowledge must be certain, general, and derived from first principles or causes. Topics surveys dialectical argumentation, offering methods for arguing from commonly held opinions in a disputational setting. On Sophistical Refutations analyzes fallacious arguments and how to detect and refute them, distinguishing genuine logic from deceptive rhetoric.

Historically, the Organon became the core of Aristotelian logic and influenced medieval scholastic thought, shaping debates about language, proof, and method for centuries. In modern logic, its syllogistic was ultimately supplanted by predicate logic, though the Organon remains a foundational source for the history of logic and the study of Aristotle’s philosophy of science. The term “Organon” is sometimes used more broadly to denote any systematic logic or toolkit for reasoning.