organon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an instrument of thought or a systematic body of principles used in scientific or philosophical inquiry

   The philosopher hoped to construct an organon for testing claims about human knowledge.

2. 2
   noun

   the Organon, the traditional collection of Aristotle's six works on logic

   Students began with the Organon before turning to Aristotle's works on nature and ethics.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek organon, 'tool, instrument, or organ.' Aristotle's followers applied the title Organon to his logical works because they treated logic as an instrument for acquiring knowledge; English later generalized the word to any systematic method of inquiry.

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