STANDARD-FORM CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION

By

Dr. El Mithra M. Delacruz

PROPOSITIONS AND ARGUMENTS

Arguments are expressed through propositions. An expressed idea or

concept through a proposition may be analyzed as either true or false. Analysis

of each proposition will help and guide us in our analysis of the entire argument.

An argument is either valid or invalid. Analysis of which is based on the

relationship of each proposition within an argument. But an argument should not

be misconstrued as having a dispute, or hostile physical or verbal attack upon

another. It is simply composed of propositions which may either be true or false

that would lead one to evaluate whether there is logical coherence between and

among propositions within an argument, and, assess whether the conclusion

logically follows from a proposition or series of propositions. Judgments are

expressed in the form of a proposition or series of propositions. Usually, one

proposition provides a reason or explanation to support a judgment made. A

proposition expresses an idea, feeling or emotion. It must articulate a complete

thought. Remember that a proposition is either true or false while an argument is

either valid or invalid.

TRUE PROPOSITION FALSE

VALID ARGUMENT INVALID

One of the essential things that one has to consider is the meaning that an

author intends to convey against another person’s interpretation. This may be

tantamount to the analysis and interpretation of a work of art. An individual may

see something in what an artist portrays that is far from what the artist is trying to

“say.” Hence, one has to be on guard all the time concerning the language we

use and at the same time, be extra wary about the content of what we are

saying. A person’s ability to evaluate an argument as valid or invalid; or,

asserting a proposition as true or false would be highly dependent on the

person’s knowledge and understanding of the matter. For instance, one person

talks about the impact of EVAT to consumers. To sustain the argument is to

present, perhaps, its list of strengths or its advantages to consumers. On the

other hand, one can argue against it. If a person simply says that “I love red

color” or asserts that “There is a new mall,” these propositions are non-

argumentative. Yet, one says that “Death penalty is a justifying circumstance for

a heinous crime” is argumentative. But, before we go any further on

argumentation, let us first have the basic working knowledge on how to treat and

analyze propositions. Look at the given examples.

The following are examples of true propositions:

1. All judgments are either acceptable or unacceptable.

2. Most children are in dire need of attention.

3. Not all business presentations are clear.

4. Mall of Asia is not in Ayala Avenue.

5. No child is walking into my optical store at this time.

The examples below are false propositions:

1. An average Filipino is six feet tall.

2. No telephone operator is a college graduate.

3. Every existentialist is an atheist.

4. Some pens are not writing materials.

5. All questions are complex.

 Whether a proposition is true or false is of great concern in the analysis of

the entire argument. Every proposition has the following elements -- a subject

term, a predicate term and a copula. It is very easy to identify these elements. A

subject term is the point under discussion; it is the central focus or the main idea

or the content in a proposition. There is usually a quantifier before the subject

term.

ELEMENTS OF A STANDARD-FORM PROPOSITION

A predicate term tells or describes something about the main idea (or

subject term) in a proposition. A copula is the connector between the subject

term and the predicate term. Generally, it is the verb “to be” that is displayed or

used as the copula in a proposition. Although in some cases, a proposition may

not be declared in its standard form using the verb “to be.” An example of which

is “Some people enjoy horror movies.” This can be restated in its standard form

as “Some people are enjoying horror movies.”

There are four standard forms of categorical propositions that can be

stated in the following examples:

All government officials are natural-born citizens.

No involuntary act is a conscious act.

Several movie directors are passionate.

Not all commentators are objective.

 Each proposition may be analyzed in accordance to its elements, quantity

of the proposition, quality of the proposition, symbol and quantity of the predicate.

In terms of its elements, the subject term in each of the propositions given

above are “government officials,” “involuntary act,” “movie directors,” and

“commentators.” The predicate terms in each of the propositions are “natural-

born citizens,” “conscious act,” “passionate,” and “objective.”

QUANTITY OF THE PROPOSITION

One easy way to determine the quantity of the proposition (or extension

of the proposition) is to check the quantifiers seen in each proposition. A

proposition can be categorized as either universal, or singular, or particular.

The quantity of a proposition is universal if it implies each and every

member of a class or if it signifies general expressions and ideas. Common

universal quantifiers are “all,” “every,” “no,” “no one,” “nobody,” “nothing,” “none,”

“whoever,” “wherever,” “whichever,” “whomever,” “whatever, whenever.”

The quantity of a proposition is singular if it refers to something definite or

refers to only one. Nouns, personal pronouns, collective nouns and nouns

modified by adjectives in the superlative degree are examples of singular

quantifiers. In such cases where the proposition is singular, for instance,

University of Santo Tomas, it means that it is categorized as a class of one.

Hence, when you encounter a proposition, say, “UST is one of the oldest

universities” it implies that “Every class or category of UST is one of the oldest

universities.” This can be further illustrated through the proposition “They are

active participants in the discussion.” The personal pronoun “they” may be

attributed to the universal proposition “All (they) of them are active participants in

the discussion.” The universal and singular propositions have, therefore, the

same extension.

The quantity of a proposition is particular if it pertains to a part of a whole,

or less than the whole, or something indefinite. The use of indefinite pronouns is

the most commonly used particular quantifiers such as many, several, most, few,

almost all, not all, some, part, etc. The use of numbers also signifies that the

quantity of a proposition is particular. Hence, from the given examples above, the

first two propositions are universal in quantity and the last two propositions are

particular.

QUALITY OF THE PROPOSITION

The copula of the proposition is actually that which should be checked to

determine the quality of the proposition. Whenever the predicate term accepts

something of the subject term, the quality of the proposition is affirmative. If the

predicate term rejects or denies something of the subject term, the quality of the

proposition is negative. It is based on whether the entire class or a part of it is

affirmed or denied. It follows that based on the given examples above, the first

and the third propositions are “affirmative,” and the second and the last

propositions are “negative.”

Once the proposition has already been analyzed based on its quantity and

quality, one can already determine the symbol because it is where the symbol of

a proposition is grounded.

SYMBOLS OF PROPOSITIONS

If it is universal or singular - affirmative, the symbol is A and if the

proposition is universal or singular - negative, the symbol is E. Notice that A and

E propositions are universal or singular in quantity but different in quality. A is

affirmative and E is negative.

The propositions symbolized by I and O are both particular in quantity but,

they are different in quality. A and I propositions share the same quality which is

affirmative, while E and O propositions share the same quality which is negative.

Of course these symbols are not vowels as seen in the English language!

A, E, I, and O symbols came from the Latin words “AffIrmo” which means

affirmative, to affirm or to agree; and, “nEgO” which means negative, to negate or

to deny.
 But, be reminded that in terms of extension, the universal and singular

propositions have the same extension. This is the reason why they have the

same symbols. Determine now the symbol of the propositions given above.

The proposition “All government officials are natural-born citizens” is

symbolized as A since the quantity is universal and the quality is affirmative. “No

involuntary act is a conscious act” is symbolized as E since the quantity is

universal and the quality is negative. The third proposition “Several movie

directors are passionate” is symbolized as I because the quantity is particular

and the quality is affirmative. The fourth proposition “Not all commentators are

objective” is symbolized as O because the quantity is particular and quality is

negative.

Do not be confused with this particular quantifier “not all” with a universal

quantifier. You might be misled to believe that since you see the word “all”

therefore, the quantity of the proposition is universal. Such quantifier “not all” is

the same or equivalent to “some are not” which means that the quantifier “not all”

is particular and not universal. Take note of that.

QUANTITY OF THE PREDICATE

The quantity of the predicate is entirely different from the quantity of the

proposition. Just remember that whenever the quantity of the proposition is

analyzed, you have to assess the quantifier used, hence, it could be universal,

particular or singular. However, in order to determine the quantity of the

predicate, the quality of the proposition, whether affirmative or negative, is the

point of reference. The following guidelines are applied:

1. if the quality of the proposition is affirmative, the quantity of the

predicate is automatically particular

2. if the quality of the proposition is negative, the quantity of the

predicate is automatically universal.

Take note of the following examples:

1. This modern technology is the solution to our problem.

Affirmative Particular

2. Most ideas were not expressed.

Negative Universal
 You must have noticed that in the first example, the quantity of the

proposition is singular. But since the quality of the proposition is affirmative, the

quantity of the predicate is particular.

While in the second example, the quantifier “most” is an indefinite

pronoun. When we say “most” it means that a particular statement is being

referred to. Therefore, the proposition is particular in quantity. Since the quality of

the proposition is negative, the quantity of the predicate is automatically

universal. It has no relation with the quantity of the proposition. In some cases,

the quantity of the proposition may be the same or different from the quantity of

the predicate. In the first place, the quantity of the predicate has nothing to do

with the quantity of the proposition.

Now, let’s go back to the four examples of standard form categorical

propositions stated above. The predicate term “natural-born citizens” in the

proposition “All government officials are natural-born citizens” has a particular

quantity because the quality of the proposition is affirmative. The quantity of the

predicate “conscious act” is negative since the proposition “No involuntary act is

a conscious act” has a negative quality.

The same principle is used in the second and fourth examples given

above. Thus, the quantity of the predicate “passionate” in the proposition

“Several movie directors are passionate” is particular since the quality is

 affirmative and the quantity of the predicate “objective” in the proposition “Not all

commentators are objective” is universal because the quality is negative. The

analysis of a proposition can now be summarized as follows based on the given:

 All government officials are natural-born citizens.

 No involuntary act is a conscious act.

 Several movie directors are passionate.

 Not all commentators are objective.

SUBJECT PREDICATE QUANTITY QUALITY SYMBOL QNTY OF

TERM TERM OF PROP OF PROP PREDICATE

Government Natural-born Universal Affirmative A Particular

officials citizens

Involuntary act Conscious act Universal Negative E Universal

Movie Passionate Particular Affirmative I Particular

directors
Commentators Objective Particular Negative O Universal
 You will notice that the propositions symbolized by A and E are both

universal in quantity but they are different in quality. The same symbols are used

if the quantity is singular.

In the first two examples, the quantity of the propositions is universal. The

first example: " All government officials are natural-born citizens” has an

affirmative quality, so the symbol is A. While the second example: “No

involuntary act is a conscious act” has a negative quality, so the symbol is E.

Universal propositions are symbolized as either A or E.

The propositions symbolized by I and O are both particular but they are

also different in quality. A and I propositions are both affirmative in quality. E and

O propositions are both negative in quality. You can have your own distinct way

to remember how to analyze propositions. Perhaps you can best remember the

four standard-form of categorical propositions using the diagram below. Take

note of the relationship and connection of the quantity of proposition, quality of

the proposition and the symbols.

Universal

A E
Affirmative Negative
I O
Particular
Remember that “Practice leads you to perfection.” In order to achieve this goal, it

takes a simple technique to remember certain tips on how to best analyze

propositions. You can see different ways and means to express oneself though

language and it is crucial to comprehend the essence of each proposition.

The four standard forms of categorical propositions can be stated in

various ways. Here are a number of examples:

UNIVERSAL PROPOSITIONS

All astronauts are pilots.

Every individual is a special creation.
A Whoever is an entrepreneur is resourceful.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.
Everything is in proper order.

No brute animal is a human being.

None of the animals were hurt in the film.
Whoever
E is below 25 is not a candidate in this job.
Nothing was done.
David is not one of the disciples of Christ.

PARTICULAR PROPOSITIONS

Many people are gifted.

Few journalists were murdered.
Millions
I of people were waiting for Pope Benedict XIV.
Almost all his dogs were trained to track down.
At least 5 children were rushed to the hospital.

Not everyone was prepared for the strong typhoon.

Not all the students were able to submit their portfolio.
Some diseases are not contagious.
Several shoppers are not excited about the new mall.
Twenty
O percent of the taxpayers are not tax evaders.