Where the syllogism "All men are mortal / Socrates is a man / Therefore, Socrates is mortal" first appeared?
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Did you notice that later in the article, making it part of the conclusion, the author uses the expression “identical to Socrates”? I can say that the expression is redundant because “The only thing identical to Socrates is Socrates.” Law of Identity, A is A, Aristotle. – user48454 Sep 23 '20 at 15:09
Comment on similar example.
The example is not from Aristotle.
Categorical propositions with singular terms are used in Medieval logic; see Peter of Spain's Summulae logicales (XIII century):
I,8 Propositio singularis est illa [...], ut "Sortes currit" [Socrates runs].
Into this textbook we can find many examples of them in the discussion of loci and entimema [V,3], bt it seems to me that there is no occurrence of the specific example of syllogism.
According to: Joseph Maria Bochenski, A History of Formal Logic (1961, or.ed.1956), page 232:
A first widening of the Aristotelian syllogistic consists in the admission of singular terms and premisses. William of Ockham (c.1287–1347) already knows of the substitution that was to become classic [Summa Logicae, III 1,3;36rb]:
Every man is an animal;
Socrates is a man;
Therefore, Socrates is an animal.
Here the minor premiss is singular. But Ockham also allows singular propositions as major premisses.
The earliest occurrence I've found is:
- Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism (Pyrrhōneioi hypotypōseis), Book II, 164:
Socrates is human.
Everything human is an animal.
Therefore, Socrates is an animal.