Proposition

Propositions can express a matter of fact in any way.

Rhetorical questions are proposition
Example: Should lawyers be good speakers - it is assumed that
they are
Questions are not proposition at all
Example: How many years should one study to become a lawyer
Imperative sentences do not have an assertion, which means
they are not proposision.
Example: be careful, follow me.
The proposition can be true or false


Proposition structure
A proposision consists of a subject, a predicate, and a quantifier,
Copula (the term is connecting the subject and predicate terms ) .
Subject - what the proposition is about.
Predicate – property (quality) of the subject.
A quantifier is an indicator of the quantity of a concept: all, some, more than
one.
There is quantifier of existence: "such students exist...".
There are proposision that do not have an indicator of quantity (quantifier).
 Types of proposition
The propositions are divided into

Attributive (saying of connections of subjects with their

qualities-attributes,
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine)
Formula of attributive judgments: S is P, S is not P.
Relational (saying of relations between subjects, e.g.: Kyiv
is greater than Kharkiv).
Formula- xRy
Propositions can be existential (Example:There are some
people, who smoke).
 CLASSIFICATION OF PROPOSITIONS
Categorical propositions are divided by quality and quantity.
1. Simple propositions may be affirmative and negative (by quality) as
well as general, particular and singular (by quantity).
By quality
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Affirmative proposition is a proposition that affirms something (the
presence of some qualities) aboutнебольшое
Добавьте its subject.
описание
Example: Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine.
Negative proposition is a proposition that negates something (points at
absence of some qualities) about its subject.
Example: No man visited Mars.
By quantity they can be
General proposition is a proposition that affirms or negates
something about all elements of its subject term’s extension.
Example: All valid contracts for the sale of real estate are in writing.
Particular proposition is a proposition that affirms or negates
something about some part of elements of its subject term’s
extension.
Example: Some people have no education.
Singular proposition is a proposition whose subject term is a
singular concept (its extension consists of only one single element).
Example: Socrates was wise
N.B. !!! Singular propositions are treated as the general ones.
 According to all above-said all propositions in logic
are divided into four groups:
A. General and affirmative
Example: All men are mortal; All criminals must be punished
E. General and negative
Example: There are no contracts that cannot be terminated.
I. Particular and affirmative
Example: Some men have a fine education;
O. Particular and negative
Example: Some men have no education.
This classification comes from two Latin words -
AFIRMO - to affirm and NEGO- to deny.

N.B. !!! Letters A, E, I, O are standard symbols for the according types of
propositions and should be remembered.
 Distribution of terms in categorical proposition
Subject and Predikat in proposition are terms.
This terms can be distributed or undistributed.
Distributed term is a term whose extension is completely
included or completely excluded into/from the extension of
another term.
Undistributed term is a term whose extension is only partly
included or excluded into/from the extension of another one.
Example, in the sentence
Wars come to an end. Wars the subject term is distributed (is
completely included) in the predicate term ‘the end’(1)
 Example - No man visited Mars’ both the subject and
predicate terms (‘man’ and ‘those who visited Mars’) are
distributed in each other (their extensions are completely
excluded from each other);
Example - ‘Some men have a fine education’ as well as the
‘Some men have no education’ Here the subject is
undistributed, some men, the predicate is undistributed,
because not only some men have (or do not have) a good
education.
Correlation between proposotions
A. All men are mortal;
E. No man is mortal;
I. Some men are mortal;
O. Some men are not mortal.
But these propositions can be never true at the same time. The
correlations of truth-falsity are represented in the table: (t
means ‘true’, f – ‘false’)
1. When two universal propositions differ in quality, they
are called CONTRARY.
Example:
All flowers are roses (A)
No flowers are roses (E)

All people are telling the truth

None of the people are telling the truth

The contrary propositions A-E can’t be true at the same

time but can be false
1. When two particular propositions differ in quality, they
are SUB-CONTRARY.
Example:
Some basketball players are tall (I)
Some basketball players are not tall (O)

Some people are aliens

Some people are not aliens
The sub-contrary propositions I-O, on the contrary, can’t
be false but can be true at the same time
 1. When two propositions of same quality, differ in quantity, they are SUB-
ALTERN (subordeneted).
Example:
1. All dogs are animals (А)
Some dogs are animals(І)

2. Some politicians lie (I)

All politicians lie (A)

3. Some lawyers are judges

All judges are lawyers
In the case of subordinated ones the truth of the lower I-O follows from the truth
of the upper A-E accordingly (1) but not on the contrary, the truth from the upper
doesn’t follow from the truth of the lower (2). There doesn’t follow also the falsity
of the lower from the falsity of the upper (3).
When propositions differ both in quality and quantity they
are CONTRADICTORY.
Example:
All dogs are animals (A)
Some dogs are not animals (O)

No woman is married (E)

Some women are married (I)

The contradict propositions A-O, E-I can’t be true or false

simultaneously.
Logical Square
 In some proposition, the quantifier may be omitted, in which
case it is not clear whether it is about the whole class or about its
parts
Example - Judges are appointed for life
"Ladies are all affectionate." Irregular proposition
"All ladies are affectionate." A – Proposition
There are impersonal propositions where the quantity is not
specified.
Consider for example, "It is cold", "It is ten O'clock
It is cold". Irregular proposition
"The whether is cold." A – Proposition.
"It is ten O'clock." Irregular proposition.
"The time is ten O'clock." A – Proposition.
There are propositions where the quantity is not specified
but their predicates are qualified by the words like
'hardly', 'scarcely', 'seldom'.
Such propositions should be treated as particular
negative.
For example, "Businessmen are seldom honest", is an
irregular proposition.
It is reduced to "Some businessmen are not honest".
 Exclusive proposition.
Any statement whose subject is qualified with words like 'only',
'alone', 'none but', or 'no one else but' is called an exclusive
proposition.
Example - All (only) persons who win the confidence of people
are honest.
Exceptive proposition.
Propositions in which the predicate is affirmed or denied of
the whole subject with some exception is called an exceptive
proposition.
Example - All students of my class except a few are well
prepared"
 LOGIC OF COMPLEX PROPOSITIONS
1. Complex propositions are propositions created from one or more
simple ones.
Example - You can love or hate people
Among the complex propositions there can be pointed out especially the
so-called conjunctional, distributive (weak and strog distrubution or
disjunction) and conditional (implicative and equivalent ) propositions.
Conjunction is expressed by words like 'and, but'.
A proposition with conjunction is true only when both its components are
true.
Λ – conjunction, ‘and’
Example - I learn not only English, but also German
A proposition with conjunction is true only when both its components are
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 Distributive proposition is a complex proposition
created with connecting two or more simple
propositions by means of conjunction ‘or’.
←
Example - We shall go to a café or to a cinema We
shall go to a café + We shall go to a cinema.
S is P or C
While symbolizing this, we use the symbol ' v ' called a
vedge.
A proposition with disjunction is false only when both its
components are false.
V – weak disjunction
2. Logical meaning of the weak disjunction.
Strong distributive judgment – a judgment in which the
features expressed by predicates are mutually exclusive.
Example: "The act may be either intentional or non-
intentional"
V o– strong disjunction
3. Logical meaning of the strong disjunction.
Conditional proposition (implicative) is the proposition created
from two simple ones with help of the construction ‘if-that’.
Example: If tomorrow the weather is fine we shall go for a walk
←
to forest Tomorrow the weather is fine + We shall go for a walk
to forest.
While symbolizing this, we use the symbol called a horse-shoe (or
arrow)
→ - implication, ‘if – that’;
A proposition with implication is false only when its antecedent,
i.e. the first component is true and the consequent, i.e. the
second component is false.
Logical meaning of implication.
 Equivalent proposition
Equivalent proposition can be equivalent if both parts of
it can be a basis and a consequence simultaneously.
That is: "if A, then B" and "if B, then A" are true.
Equivalence is expressed by words like 'if and only if...
then.'
Examle - You'll lose weight only if you stick to your diet.
↔ - equivalence, ‘only in the case if – then’.
In order to formalize complex proposition the follow special symbols are used:
Let us consider several examples. 1) The weather is fine (A) and sun is
shining brightly in the sky (B) - A Λ B;
2) Tomorrow we shall go to cinema (A) or to discotheque (B) - A V B;
3) 3) In Ukraine one may legally be either a deputy (A) or a businessman
(B) - A V B;
4) 4) If the weather tomorrow is fine (A) we shall go walking to forest
→
(B) - A B;
5) 5) Only if the weather tomorrow is fine (A) we shall go walking to forest
↔
(B)- A B.
Denial in logic is denoted as follows While symbolizing a negation, we use
the symbol ' ~ ' that is called curl or tilde.
Examle - If I give up sweets or fatty foods, I will lose weight
↔
(A V B) B
 Accident Fallacy
a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid
(also known as: destroying the exception, sweeping
generalizations)
Definition - When an attempt is made to apply a general
rule to all situations, when clearly there are exceptions to
the rule.
Example - I believe one should never deliberately hurt
another person, that’s why I can never be a surgeon.
Ad Fidentia - argumentum ad fidentia (also known as: against self-
confidence)
Description: Attacking the person’s self-confidence in place of the
argument or the evidence.
Example:
Rick: I had a dream last night that I won the lottery! I have $1000
saved up, so I am buying 1000 tickets!
Vic: You know, dreams are not accurate ways to predict the future;
they are simply the result of random neurons firing.
Rick: The last time I checked, you are no neurologist or
psychologist, so how sure are you that I am not seeing the future?
Vic: It’s possible you can be seeing the future, I guess.
Ad Hoc Rescue ad hoc (also known as: making shit up*, MSU
fallacy*)
Description: If we begin to make up excuses as to why our
belief could still be true, and is still true, despite the fact that
we have no real evidence for what we are making up.
Example:
Frieda: I just know that Raymond is just waiting to ask me out.
Edna: He has been seeing Rose for 3 months now.
Frieda: He is just seeing her to make me jealous.
Edna: They’re engaged. Frieda: Well, that’s just his way of
making sure I know about it.