PROPOSITIONS

- a group of words expressing a complete thought is a sentence.

- we will only discuss a declarative sentence which can only be considered as
proposition.

proposition – derives from the Latin word “proponere” – to put forward for
consideration

*take note that a proposition is a declarative sentence

TYPES OF SENTENCES (that are not propositions)

a. Interrogative sentence – asks a question
b. Expressive sentence – expresses an emotion
c. Directive sentence – expresses a command or request
only the declarative sentence states a thought which can either be true or false
ex. Many people are honest.
Happiness is essential to a man’s life.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROPOSITIONS

-proposition is the result of the second mental operations (simple apprehension,
judgment, and reasoning)
-Judgment – is affirming or denying the relationship between two concepts.
*the two concepts are: subject and predicate while the act of judgment is the
copula
*a proposition is made up of three parts: subject, copula, and predicate
S – c – P : subject – copula - predicate
The subject and predicate – constitute the matter of the proposition
*the matter – expresses the thought-content
The copula – is the form
*the form – expresses the act of mental judgment (to know if there is or no
relationship between the subject and the predicate)

1. Subject-Term: it stands for the person, animal, place or idea

*grammatically – it is either a noun, a pronoun, a phrase or sentence
*on the basis of its extension – the subject is either singular, universal, particular, or
indefinite term
*the quantifier – “all” “some” “many of”

2. Copula: it stands for the mental act of judgment (affirming or denying) between
the relationship of the subject and predicate
*express by the present tense of the linking verb “to be”
*the quantifier – in an affirmative form (is, are), in a negative form (is not, are not)
ex. Peter is my classmate (affirmative form)
Peter is not my classmate (negative form)

3. Predicate-Term: stands for what the proposition is saying about the subject
*it is either singular, particular or universal term
*predicate does not carry a quantifier to show its extension. (meaning we cannot know if it is
singular, particular, or universal. See the rules)
*Rules:
1. The predicate of an affirmative proposition is particular unless it is singular.
ex. Logic is difficult (the P is particular)
The most difficult subject is Logic. (the P is singular)
2. The predicate of negative proposition is universal unless it is singular.
ex. No men are sinners (the P is universal)
Among the sinners is not John (the P is singular)
*The proposition is concerned with the conceptual relation between the subject and
predicate. (either affirmed or denied)

TYPES OF PROPOSITIONS (4 types)

a. On the basis of its truth-content:
1. Contingent proposition – expresses truth which is temporary and variable because
it is true only in a given situation
ex. The day is warm and sunny (true because it exist, temporary because weather changes)
She is 18 years old (true because she is really 18 but temporary because soon she’ll be 19)
2. Necessary proposition – expresses truth which is permanent and unchangeable
because it is true all the time in all situations
ex. Man is rational animal. (true because it is the very nature of man)
The Philippines is in Asia. (true because one cannot transfer Phil. to other continent)
b. On the basis of the Extension of the Subject-Term
1. Singular Proposition – which has singular subject-term
ex. My father is a lawyer.
2. Universal Proposition – which has universal subject-term
ex. All men are equal.
3. Particular Proposition – which has particular subject-term
ex. Some flowers are red.
4. Indefinite Proposition – which has an indefinite subject-term
ex. A man is at the door.

c. On the basis of the Quality of the Copula

1. Affirmative Proposition – which affirms the relationship between subject and
predicate
ex. The car is expensive.
2. Negative Proposition – which denies the relationship of subject and predicate
ex. The child is not happy.

d. On the basis of its Logical Form:

1. Categorical Proposition – affirms or denies the conceptual relationship between
two concepts: subject and predicate, by means of the linking verb “to be”: copula
*it expresses truth directly and categorically, without conditionality.
ex. Today is my birthday.
Logic is a science.
2. Hypothetical Proposition – affirms or denies the relationship between two
propositions, the antecedent and the consequent
*it expresses a truth as being dependent on a given conditionality
ex. If he is an artist, then he is creative
TYPES OF CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION
There are eight (8) categorical proposition on the basis of the quantity of the
subject-term and the quality of the copula:
1. Universal Affirmative (universal subject-term and affirmative copula)
ex. All men are equal.
2. Universal Negative (universal subject-term and negative copula)
ex. No man is an island
3. Particular Affirmative (particular subject-tern and affirmative copula)
ex. Some students are scholar
4. Particular Negative (particular subject-term and negative copula)
ex. Not all men are equal.
5. Singular Affirmative (singular subject-term and affirmative copula)
ex. This book is interesting
6. Singular Negative (indefinite subject-term and negative copula)
ex. This book is not interesting.
7. Indefinite Affirmative (indefinite subject-term and affirmative copula)
ex. The fruit is edible.
8. Indefinite Negative (indefinite subject-term and negative copula)
ex. The medicine is not yet effective.

REDUCTION OF SINGULAR AND INDEFINITE PROPOSITION

*Singular subject-term includes all its extension the way a universal term does.
Therefore, singular proposition is thus reduced and treated as a Universal
Proposition.
*Likewise, Indefinite proposition can be treated either Universal or as Particular
Proposition.
*note: an indefinite proposition is universal when the predicate applies to ALL its
inferiors presented by the subject-term.
ex. A Filipino is an Asian (it is a Universal Proposition because the predicate
“Asian” means constituted to “All Filipinos”
A Filipino is honest (it is classified as Particular Proposition because it talks
only to some and not to the totality, since there are who are not honest Filipinos)
Consequently, 8 Categorical Propositions are reduced into 4 Categoricals (A,E,I,O)

‘A’ = Universal Affirmative ‘I’ = Particular Affirmative

‘E’ = Universal Negative ‘O’ = Particular Negative
1. “A” Proposition –affirmative proposition with Singular or Universal subject-term
pattern: “All S is P”
ex. Every man is rational
2. “E” Proposition –negative proposition with Singular or Universal subject-term
pattern: “No S is P”
ex. None of the student is absent.
note: putting “No” before the subject makes the copula negative and the subject
universal.
ex. No stone is an organism. (the subject becomes universal)
3. “I” Proposition –affirmative proposition with particular subject-term.
pattern: “Some S is P”
ex. Some people are rich.
4. “O” Proposition –negative proposition with particular subject-term
pattern: “Some S is not P”
ex. Some students are not athletes.
note: quantifiers “all” and “every” when preceded by the particle “not” signify a
particular term, but not a universal term.
pattern: “Not all S is P”
ex. Not all that glitter is gold.
ANALYZING THE PROPOSITION
In analyzing a categorical proposition, there is a need to use SYMOLS. In a way that
this would be easier to understand the syllogism.

The following symbols:

capital letters:
S – stands for subject
P – stands for predicate

small letters: written at the foot of the S (subject) indicate the types of proposition
a – affirmative/universal or singular
e – negative/universal or singular
i – affirmative/particular
o – negative/particular
the signs:
plus sign (+) –affirmative copula
minus sign (-) –negative copula

small letters: written at the foot of the P (predicate) as extension.

u –stands for universal
p –stands for particular

Remember the following pattern:

A: All men are rational. I: Some men are rational.

Sa + Pp Si + Pp
E: No man is rational. O: Some men are not rational
Se - Pu So - Pu
A: All men are rational.
Sa + Pp
*the subject is affirmative-universal(A), unless singular, while the predicate is
particular because it is an affirmative (+) proposition.

E: No man is rational.
Se - Pu
*the subject is negative-universal(E), unless singular, while the predicate is universal
because it is a negative (-) proposition.

I: Some men are rational.

Si + Pp
*the subject is affirmative-particular(I) while the predicate is particular because it is
an affirmative (+) proposition.

O: Some men are not rational.

So - Pu
*the subject is negative-particular(O) while the predicate is universal because it is a
negative (-) proposition.
DIAGRAMMING THE PROPOSITION (using a CIRCLE)
1. A full circle stands for universal concept.
2. A half-circle, or any part of it, stands for a particular concept.
3. A circle drawn with broken lines stand for a singular concept.

THE LOGICAL DIAGRAM FOR PROPOSITION

Leonard Euler, a Swiss Mathematician, introduced the use of logical diagram to
illustrate the relationship of the Subject and of the Predicate on the basis of their
extension.

In this presentation, it indicates the following:

a. a full circle suggests universal extension

b. a partial circle suggests a particular extension
c. a circle w/ broken lines indicates singular extension
DIAGRAMS:

1. Diagram of the “A” Proposition

ex. All men are rational.
Rational

Man

* subject-term “man” (inside layer and drawn as full circle) is universal term, is
drawn inside the circle(outer layer) is predicate term “rational”
* it implies that “each and every” man is rational. Since it is not filled, it is taken as
particular. Theoretically, there are other beings that are rational but not men.
DIAGRAMS:

2. Diagram of the “E” Proposition

ex. No man is an angel.

Man Angel

* The circles are drawn fully and separately. It only indicates, that the subject and
predicate has nothing in common. Therefore, the subject-term can never be counted
among the extension of the predicate.
DIAGRAMS:

3. Diagram of the “I” Proposition

ex. Some men are rational. some men who are rational

Man Rational

* The shaded portion only indicates “some”. It shows “the men who are rational”.
However, the diagram can be misleading as “there are men who are not rational”.
According to A. Bachhuber, there is a limitation of a quantitative presentation. But it
can be over come to the point in logic, to speak of “some are” does not necessarily
imply that “some are not”
DIAGRAMS:

4. Diagram of the “O” Proposition

ex. Some men are not angels. some men who are not angels

Man Angels

* The shaded portion shows which “some” of the subject is excluded from the
extension of the predicate. But again, it can be over come to the point in logic, to
speak of “some are” does not necessarily imply that “some are not”
DIAGRAMS:

5. Diagram of the “A” Proposition with Singular Subject

ex. Jose Rizal is our national hero.
National Hero

Jose Rizal

* The subject-term “Jose Rizal” is illustrated in broken-lines, coinciding with circle

(outside layer). This means that the subject and the predicate are convertible with
each other.
ex. Our national hero is Jose Rizal.
THE END