Posterior Analytics

References

Posterior Analytics

work by Aristotle

Also known as: “Analytica posteriora”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Posterior Analytics is a work by Aristotle that is part of his Organon, a collection of his logical writings. This treatise focuses on scientific method and the nature of scientific demonstration. Aristotle proposed that scientific knowledge is built upon a set of first principles that are true, necessary, and immediately known, without requiring demonstration themselves. Scientific truths are then logically derived from these principles through a series of syllogisms, which are a form of argument invented by Aristotle. These syllogisms not only logically necessitate their conclusions but also causally explain them. The work also delves into the concept of definition, as Aristotle believed that the axioms defining a science's subject matter are crucial.1234

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

$optical illusion: refraction of light$
epistemology
Aristotle
In the Posterior Analytics, Aristotle (384–322 bce) claims that each science consists of a set of first principles, which are necessarily true and knowable directly, and a set of truths, which are both logically derivable from and causally explained by the first principles. The demonstration of a…
Read More
In the Posterior Analytics, Aristotle (384–322 bce) claims that each science consists of a set of first principles, which are necessarily true and knowable directly, and a set of truths, which are both logically derivable from and causally explained by the first principles. The demonstration of a…
Read More

Aristotle
Philosophy of science
In his Posterior Analytics Aristotle applies the theory of the syllogism to scientific and epistemological ends. Scientific knowledge, he urges, must be built up out of demonstrations. A demonstration is a particular kind of syllogism, one whose premises can be traced back to principles that are true,…
Read More
In his Posterior Analytics Aristotle applies the theory of the syllogism to scientific and epistemological ends. Scientific knowledge, he urges, must be built up out of demonstrations. A demonstration is a particular kind of syllogism, one whose premises can be traced back to principles that are true,…
Read More

Western philosophy
The transition to Scholasticism
>Analytica posteriora were rendered into Latin, giving the Schoolmen access to the Aristotelian methods of disputation and science, which became their own techniques of discussion and inquiry. Many other philosophical and scientific works of Greek and Arabic origin were translated at this time, creating a…
Read More
>Analytica posteriora were rendered into Latin, giving the Schoolmen access to the Aristotelian methods of disputation and science, which became their own techniques of discussion and inquiry. Many other philosophical and scientific works of Greek and Arabic origin were translated at this time, creating a…
Read More

Western philosophy
Philosophy
The last chapters of his Posterior Analytics show, on the contrary, that he merely replaced Plato’s transcendent Forms with something (katholou) corresponding to them that the human mind can grasp in individual things.
Read More
The last chapters of his Posterior Analytics show, on the contrary, that he merely replaced Plato’s transcendent Forms with something (katholou) corresponding to them that the human mind can grasp in individual things.
Read More