The logic of Aristotle is traditionally said to be an organon, an instrument or tool. The ancient sources containing this saying, the context in which it is given, and the consequences following from it are frequently less known however. My aim in this paper is to give a brief review of the sources and discuss some of the consequences that, I think, follow from this statement. My hypothesis is that Philoponus adopts a Neoplatonic interpretation of Aristotle's logic that may distort Aristotle's original intent in his writings on logic. This is important, I claim, in terms of defining not only Aristotle's original idea of logic, but also what logic is in general. The extent of my concern here, however, is mostly historical.
Ancient Sources
According to Alexander, 1 Ammonius, 2 Boethius 3 and Johannes Philoponus, 4 Aristotle and the first Peripatetics conceived logic as an instrument of philosophy. Philoponus, for instance, writes:
Now, there is need to inquire whether logic (logike) and the dialectical activity is a part of philosophy or an instrument of it, for the ancient 1 Alexander of Aphrodisias in An Pr, 1, 3 -6,13. See especially p. 3, 2-5 (= Wallies 1883).
2 Ammonius in An Pr, 8,15 -11,21 (= Wallies 1890). At9,11 Ammonius' text presents a considerable lacuna.