How to Think #10: Baroco

The 10^th valid syllogism is called Baroco and in symbols it looks like this:

1. All P's are M's

2. Some S's are not M's

3. Therefore, some S's are not P's

In words a Baroco argument might come out like this:

1. All philosophers are intelligent

2. Some philosophy professors are not intelligent

3. Therefore, some philosophy professors are not philosophers

Any valid syllogism with true premises and correctly defined terms has a true conclusion and is important for that very reason. My favorite syllogisms, though, have a little sting in the tail. They put ideas together in a surprising way, in a way we might not have noticed without the syllogism's help.

All good people are honest

Some police officers are not honest

Therefore, some police officers are not good people

All immoral acts are unnecessary

Some violent acts are not unnecessary

Therefore, some violent acts are not immoral acts

On this last one we could have very long debates about what "unnecessary" means. :-)

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

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