Introduction to Classical Logic

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This little book provides the student a friendly introduction to the critical liberal art of logic, as taught directly from the masters of that art. The giants of clear thinking in this art were especially Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. But the list also includes (believe it or not) the very anti-Catholic Roman named Porphyry, who in spite of his bias, wrote the “Isagoge” – an extremely helpful “warm up” to Aristotle’s logic works, and which has formed more than 1,200 years of Catholic thinkers. This work alone is a marvel, with its lucid explanation of the key philosophical / logical terms of genus, species, difference, accident, and property – terms which St. Thomas heavily uses in teaching Catholic theology. After the “Isagoge”, the student is ready to become a disciple of the “Father of Logic” – Aristotle, and will read his first work, on the first act of the mind) called the “Categories”. In that work, Aristotle shows that everything we predicate (say about) other things can be finally divided into 10 categories of being: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, state, action, and affection – but the first four are the “biggies”, which are especially important in philosophy and theology.

More than ever should Traditional Catholic parents insist that their children be formed by the great works themselves, rather than be “spoon-fed” by modern works which may (or may not) accurately reflect what the original great thinkers said on the subject. The two foundational logic works included in this book (Isagoge and Categories) are the first two logic works that almost every Catholic student through the great Middle Ages and for centuries beyond encountered as they began their intellectual formation in universities or secondary schools with the seven liberal arts. The results were as consistent as they were important: the student’s mind became more clear, orderly, analytical, able to make good distinctions, and most importantly – hungry for more and higher wisdom! We encourage you to treat your children (or yourself!) to the wisdom in this little book.