A short treatise by Aristotle considering the nature of interpretation itself. I found it was a good brain-building piece. ( )

This short work is part of a larger group of writings concerning logic. This work sets out definitions of noun, verb, sentence, and proposition. The distinctions between simple/complex, contrary/contradictory, and individual/universal propositions are given. Then, the author sets up the relationships between all of these.
While this book has great historical interest, and perhaps some interest to someone who loves to read philosophy, it serves little other use to a modern reader. Aristotle was unaware of fine points of grammar, because of limitations in written Greek. Aristotle's Greek had no spaces between words, and the letters were all capitals. Because of this, his ideas about what makes a "word" are problematic for a modern reader. Also, since Attic Greek grammar is much different than English grammar, translations of his discussion of grammar are approximate at best. Someone relying on this for a theory of logic would build his house on sand. While this was ground-breaking linguistic and logical theory of the ancient world, it is woefully out of date. It is also a slow read. (even though it is very brief.) ( )

Aristotle defines a noun, verb, simple proposition, affirmation vs. denial (and the rest by conjunction, i.e. joining of propositions). Logically, every affirmation has a denial (these are either full contraries of universals or contradictories). He references the sophists and hints that they tend to use weak versions of denials to make their unclear points. ( )