Syllogism


Pronunciation: sil-uh-JIZ-um

 

 

In logic, a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a majorpremise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. Adjective: syllogistic.

Here is an example of a valid categorical syllogism:



Major premise: All mammals are warm-blooded.
Minor premise: All black dogs are mammals.
Conclusion: Therefore, all black dogs are warm-blooded.

 

In rhetoric, an enthymeme is an informally stated syllogism.

See also:

 


Etymology:

From the Greek, "to infer, count, reckon"

Examples and Observations: