Introduction
In writing the Dialectical Essay, you are going to test both viewpoints. Moreover, you are going to apply the "rules of logic" to the viewpoints before coming to a conclusion about them. The rules of logical thinking require that:.....1) There is a syllogism.
.....2) This syllogism is made up of a Major Premise, a Minor Premise, and a Conclusion
.....3) The premises and Conclusion, must be tested by being factual, moral, logical, and politically sound.
.....4) Finally, the Conclusion must be supported both by the Major Premise and the Minor Premise.
Syllogism
This kind of thinking is called deductive reasoning. It requires the scholar to follow a logical (or step by step) process whereby a conclusion is arrived at based upon multiple premises. The common example for this type of thinking dates back to Aristotle and the Greeks:.....a) All humans are mortal (Major Premise).
.....b) All Greeks are human (Minor Premise).
.....c) Therefore all Greeks are mortal (Conclusion).
In this example, you can see how the relationship between the Major premsie and the Minor premise bring about the Conclusion.
Faulty Syllogisms
This relationship must be tested in order for the Conclusion to be true. If it cannot pass the test, the Syllogism if faulty......a) All students carry backpacks (Major Premise).
.....b) My grandfather carries a backpack (Minor Premise).
.....c) Therefore grandfather is a student(Conclusion).
While this Syllogism may be true, the relationship between the two premises is faulty. This can be test by working through the syllogism backwards.
.....c) Therefore grandfather is a student(Conclusion). - "Is my grandfather a student?" (Nope - something is wrong in the premises).
.....b) My grandfather carries a backpack (Minor Premise). "Does my grandfather carry a backpack?" (Yep - ok, its not this premise).
.....a) All students carry backpacks (Major Premise). "Is this an accurate statement?" (Nope - not all students carry backpacks and the quality of a student is not measured by carrying a backpack. This is the faulty premise).
A syllogism follows a particular structure by using certain words. These words are:
.....1) All (Universal)
.....2) Some (Particular)
.....3) No (Negative)
.....4) Are (Affirmative)
.....5) Are Not (Negative)
Through using these words a syllogism is constructed. For example:
.....1) No reptiles have fur (Negative)
.....2) All snakes are reptiles (Universal)
.....3) No snakes have fur. (Negative)
