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—soritical /saw rit"i keuhl, soh-/, soritic, adj./saw ruy"teez, soh-/, n. Logic.a form of argument having several premises and one conclusion, capable of being resolved into a chain of syllogisms, the conclusion of each of which is a premise of the next.
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In philosophy, a chain of successive syllogisms in the first figure so related that either the conclusion of each is the minor premise of the next or the conclusion of each is the major premise of the next.If the conclusions of all the successive syllogisms (except the last) are suppressed and only the remaining premises and the final conclusion are stated, the resulting argument is a valid inference from the stated premises. (For example: Some enthusiasts show poor judgment; all who show poor judgment make frequent mistakes; none who makes frequent mistakes deserves implicit trust; therefore, some enthusiasts do not deserve implicit trust.) In general, there may be n + 1 premises, and analysis then yields a chain of n successive syllogisms.* * *
▪ logicin syllogistic, or traditional, logic, a chain of successive syllogisms—or units of argument that pass from two premises (a major and then a minor) to a conclusion—in the first figure (i.e., with the middle, or repeated, term as the subject of the major and the predicate of the minor premise)—so related that either the conclusion of each (except the last) is the minor premise of the next or the conclusion of each (except the last) is the major premise of the next. If, then, the conclusions of all of the successive syllogisms (except the last) are suppressed and only the remaining premises and the final conclusion are stated, the resulting argument is a valid inference from the stated premises. For example:Some enthusiasts show poor judgment.All who show poor judgment make frequentmistakes.None who makes frequent mistakes deservesimplicit trust.Therefore, some enthusiasts do not deserveimplicit trust.In general, there may be n + 1 premises, and analysis then yields a chain of n successive syllogisms.* * *
Universalium. 2010.