Strict syllogistic form (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-syllogism/#1) is how Scholastic philosophers and theologians performed disputations in the Middle Ages.
A syllogism consists of:
- Major premise
- Minor premise
- Conclusion
A premise can be a so-called A, E, I, O proposition. From here (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/square/#Int):
QuoteNAME | FORM | TITLE |
A | Every S is P | Universal Affirmative |
E | No S is P | Universal Negative |
I | Some S is P | Particular Affirmative |
O | Some S is not P | Particular Negative |
The diagram for the traditional square of opposition (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/square/image-a.jpg) is:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/mediawiki/3/33/Square_of_opposition.jpg)
For more information on Scholastic disputations, see Fr. Thomas Gilby, O.P.'s
Barbara Celarent: A Description of Scholastic Dialectic (https://archive.org/stream/barbaracelarent033237mbp#page/n299/mode/2up) pp. 279 (https://archive.org/stream/barbaracelarent033237mbp#page/n299/mode/2up)-296 (also in the St. Isidore e-book library (https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/2905)).
I plan to get a better grasp of strict syllogistic form.