Journal index

A syllogism (Greek: συλλογισμός – “conclusion, inference”) is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. Aristotle defines the syllogism as “a discourse in which certain (specific) things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so”. The Aristotelian syllogism dominated Western philosophical thought for many centuries in the Middle Ages. But the history of syllogistic thinking does not end with the Middle Ages. It continued to be used even by the church reformers of the 16th century. Thus, alongside a dialectic way of thinking, it contributed to the development of the new dogmatics coined by the church reformers in the 16th century

The Reformation highly esteemed the classical scientific disciplines as far as they contributed to a better understanding of the gospel. The method was delivered by the Humanism and Renaissance. Consequently, the reformers, whose primary concern was studying the word of God in original (Hebrew and Greek), started to master both languages right from the beginning. Hebrew helped them to learn and understand God’s will in the Old Testament in its original setting, while Greek improved their grip on the message of the New Testament. When preparations for ministry had started in the Protestant universities, both languages were self-evidently taken over in the educational process. The present paper deals with Melanchthon’s appreciation of the Greek language.