Chapter VI - The Master - In which Aristotle meets Plato, his professor, and impresses him with his mastery of the syllogism.
Aristotle, after several days of an exhausting voyage, finally entered Athens. What he saw there left him flabbergasted. The city was marvelous, and the architecture had a superb purity. The colonnades were distributed in a harmony that lifted the spirit. On each street corner, sprawling markets attested to the formidable commercial activity that occurred in these parts. The gardens were numerous, and there one could see little groups of philosophers contemplating sophisms amid the luxurious plants, the charming fountains, and thousand-year-old stones. A splendid temple, perched on a plateau, dominated the city.
Aristotle was very impressed, and he eventually found the academy where the famous Plato taught. The magnificence of the place overwhelmed him, and, as if in a hallucination, he wandered the immense marble hallways of the building. His steps led him towards a heavy door on which one could read an inscription, "Schooling, Second Cycle." Aristotle had never seen anything like it asked himself what this mysterious formulation could mean, but he decided to enter to ask for directions. The reception he received was extremely unpleasant. A disagreeable old woman informed Aristotle with pursed lips that "Professor Plato must give a third year course at the end of the hallway on the right, then a left, then two more rights, then a left, then straight, then at the top of staircase B." Finally, one of the women made Aristotle understand, with a dark stare, that he should leave the room at once.
After more travels and scornful looks from the students from whom he asked directions, Aristotle finally arrived in a large amphitheater where the professor noticed his intrusion.
Plato: "What is your name, young man?"
Aristotle: "Aristotle."
Plato: "Very well. Aristotle, know that I do not accept anyone into my course that I haven't tested first."
Aristotle: "I am ready."
Plato. "Well, then. Aristotle, if I admit you into my school, I will teach you rudimentary logic, and more if your intelligence permits it. But first, you must know how to detach yourself from that which you consider certain. A good philosopher is confident only in his own reason and must be capable of dismantling the perverse reasoning of the sophists to have a perfect knowledge of things in the world. Listen to this well: it should be said that no cat has eight tails, but a cat has one more tail than no cat. Therefore, a cat must have nine tails."
Aristotle listened attentively.
Plato: "Okay, can you demonstrate the absurdity of this sophism?"
Aristotle reflected for a minute and then stated the following...
Aristotle: "Well, let's continue with the reasoning. A cat must have nine tails, therefore a cat has nine tails more than no cat. And since no cat has eight tails, a cat must have seventeen of them..."
Plato: "Well said."
Aristotle: "If one turns the reasoning into a loop, it begins to contradict itself. The statement that comes from the conclusion must therefore be false."
Plato: "That's remarkable, young man. I see that it isn't necessary to teach you the art of syllogism, it is innate in you."
And Aristotle was happy to have satisfied his new professor.
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