Who is considered one of the greatest philosophers and the first genuine scientist in history, credited with inventing formal logic?

• A. Socrates
• B. Plato
• C. Aristotle
• D. Pythagoras

Answer: (C)

Formal logic investigates how conclusions follow from premises using a structured set of rules. Aristotle created the first systematic logic, the syllogistic, showing how to derive new truths from two or more general statements. This achievement made him stand out as a towering philosopher and laid the groundwork for scientific reasoning—organizing observation, questioning, and deduction in a way that influenced many disciplines for centuries.

Socrates is known for the probing method of questioning, not for a formal logical system. Plato's work centers on ideals and dialectic rather than a formal apparatus for deductive reasoning. Pythagoras is celebrated for mathematics and early mathematical thinking, but not for inventing formal logic.