organon

Organon is the traditional name given to Aristotle’s collection of logical treatises, regarded as the instrument or tool for reasoning. The core group typically includes six works: Categories; On Interpretation; Prior Analytics; Posterior Analytics; Topics; and Sophistical Refutations. In some catalogues, De Generatione et Corruptione is also included as part of the Organon, though its placement within or alongside Aristotelian logic is debated.

The Organon develops a framework for inquiry built around terms, propositions, and deduction. Categories surveys kinds of being and predication; On Interpretation examines the structure and meaning of statements, including the status of future contingents; Prior Analytics treats the formal syllogism and the rules of deductive inference; Posterior Analytics concerns scientific demonstration and the criteria for knowledge; Topics covers dialectical argument and the use of commonplaces; Sophistical Refutations analyzes fallacies and misleading argumentation used by sophists.

Historically, the Organon served as the standard logical corpus in antiquity and the medieval period, shaping scholastic thought and the standard study of logic for centuries. The Aristotelian syllogistic system presented in these works influenced later logical theory and method, even as later developments in logic emerged that questioned or superseded some of its claims. Today, the Organon is regarded as a foundational, historical source for understanding ancient and medieval approaches to logic and argument.