The Sophistical Elenchi

What it is

This is an English translation of The Sophistical Elenchi, a treatise by Aristotle on sophistical arguments, or fallacies. The translation was made by Octavius Freire Owen and published in 1853. The surviving text opens with a list of chapters, from the general nature of sophistical refutation to the ways of answering false arguments. The record lists it on Wikisource under Aristotle's logical writings.

Why it matters

Aristotle wrote the original Greek work, which belongs to his studies of logic. Owen's 1853 version is a later translation, so it shows how the work was read in nineteenth-century Britain rather than in Aristotle's own time. The treatise helped shape later thinking about how to spot errors in reasoning, so it connects Aristotle to logicians and teachers who came after him.

Look closer

• Which kinds of faulty arguments does the chapter list describe, and how would you recognise one in everyday speech?
• Why might a translator in 1853 have wanted to make an ancient text on argument available to English readers?
• What does this table of contents leave out, and how might a reader find out more about the full text?