Sophistical Refutations

Sophistical Refutations (Greek: Σοφιστικοὶ Ἔλεγχοι, romanized: Sophistikoi Elenchoi; 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 treat the subject of deductive 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]

Fallacies identified

The fallacies Aristotle identifies in Chapter 4 (formal fallacies) and 5 (informal fallacies) of this book are the following:

Fallacies in the language or formal fallacies (in dictionem):

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

Fallacies not in the language or informal fallacies (extra dictionem):

7. Accident
8. Secundum quid
9. Irrelevant conclusion
10. Petitio principii
11. False cause
12. Affirming the consequent
13. Fallacy of many questions

Footnotes

1. Sometimes listed as twelve.