PHL 3305 Lecture 25

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Demonstration

A demonstration produces scientific knowledge according to the final cause

Premises must be:

1. true (duh!)
2. primary, or "first" w.r.t. the conclusion
3. immediate or "unmiddled"; no "middle term" by which they are proven
4. better known than the conclusion
5. [sequentially] prior to the conclusion
6. causes of their conclusion(s)

Kinds of Discursive Reasoning

1. (Demonstration)
2. dialectic (probable argumentation)
3. rhetoric (persuades instead of proves)
4. poetry ("intrinsically represents truth and causes delight; extrinsically encourages listener to live virtuously")

Propositions of a Demonstrative Syllogism

"concentric circles"

• of every - applies to everything of the given nature
• of itself (per se) - applies to a few instances
• of the whole - "commensurately universal" (common measure)