Syllogism

What Does Syllogism Mean?

A syllogism is a deductive reasoning construct wherein logical arguments follow from each other. It can be used in different types of programming and in IT.

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Techopedia Explains Syllogism

One type of syllogism sometimes applied to IT is called a "statistical syllogism." This is also known as proportional syllogism or direct inference. It uses inductive reasoning, however, instead of deductive reasoning.

In some fundamental ways, a syllogistic logic can be applied to computer programs. In this case, a computer program could use a syllogistic logic structure to determine outcomes. For example, if all A's are B's and all B's are C's, therefore all A's are C's. However, some types of syllogisms in human logic try to make deductive guesses about outcomes. These would generally be replaced by outcomes used in computer science, which are largely predetermined and strictly logical. In other cases, a syllogism could be contrasted with or related to a series of "if/then" statements used in programming to affect outcomes based on logical cases.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…