Logic of Programming and Aristotle’s Syllogistic

Abstract

In the paper we compare methodological assumptions underlying Aristotle’s syllogistic and logic programming. To be used as a logic program a theory has to be expressed in the language of Horn clauses. This is possible if a certain form of disjunction property holds for that theory. Aristotle’s syllogistic requires the same form of disjunction property for complete axiomatisation of its theorems and non-theorems. Such analogy makes it possible to use the tools of logic programming in syllogistic, and on the other hand to use techniques developed for syllogistic in programming