Does Aristotelian logic describe human reasoning? Valid syllogisms and canonical models

Abstract

In the case of quantified propositions, the mental models theory distinguishes between canonical and noncanonical models. While people identify the canonical models in an immediate, rapid, and easy way, the noncanonical models cannot be detected without reflection and cognitive effort. In this paper, I try to show that all of the valid syllogisms in Aristotelian logic can be considered to be correct by resorting only to the canonical models of their sentences. In this way, I argue that this means that Aristotelian logic can be a useful criterion to explain, describe, and even predict people’s conclusions from quantified assertions.