ABSTRACT

Syllogisms have a long logical and philosophical history. At first sight, one might wonder whether this history would be of any interest to experimental psychologists. Respect for the autonomy of psychology and the fear of logicism might explain such a negative attitude. Still, as will be shown in this chapter, investigators of human reasoning have a great deal to learn from an examination of logical and philosophical theories of the syllogism because, through the exposition of their principles and methods of resolution, these often make use of, and disclose, processes that are psychological in nature.