Revealing the Truth Behind Russell’s Condemnation of Subject-Predicate Logic: Using Inferences with Relations to Compare the Logical Systems of Aristotle and Frege

Abstract

This thesis compares the logical systems of Aristotle and Frege in light of Bertrand Russell’s criticism that Aristotelian subject-predicate logic does not accord relations their due weight. Although the criticism is unsupported as Russell offers it, after outlining the two systems, I conclude that his claim is true, and that by analyzing inferences with relations in Aristotelian and Fregean logic, we can see how subject-predicate logic is limited in being unable to capture relations fully.