REVIEW OF CHAPTER 3

Deductive arguments Patterns of deductive arguments Inductive arguments Patterns of inductive arguments

Chapter 9: Categorical Logic

Part 1: Categorical propositions Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form Part 3: Testing validity with Venn Diagrams

Part 1: Categorical propositions

Categorical propositions make declarations about entities belonging to, or not belonging to, categories or classes. Each categorical proposition has 4 basic parts:
1. Quantifier: all, no or some 2. Subject: (S) 3. Predicate: (P) 4. Corpula: Linking verb Ex: All IU students are Critical Thinking learners. 1 2 4 3

Categorical Claims

All S are P No S are P Some S are P Some S are not P

Venn Diagrams for Categorical Propositions

Venn diagrams, invented by John Venn, is a very useful method of diagramming the informational content of categorical propositions. A Venn diagram for a categorical proposition consists of 2 overlapping circles.

A Venn diagram for 2 classes, S and P

Two simple rules governing Venn diagrams:

1. Shade a region to show that it is empty. 2. Place an X in a region to show that it is occupied by some.
X

A- All S are P

E- No S are P

I-Some S are P

O- Some S are not P

Categorical Claims

"All S are P" (A): "The class of S outside of P is empty."

"No S are P" (E): "The class of S inside P is empty."

"Some S are P" (I): "The class of S inside P has at least one member." "Some S are not P" (O): "The class of S outside of P has at least one member.

Common stylistic variants

A: All S are P
Every S is a P.
Whatever is an S is a P. Any S is a P.

Whoever is an S is a P.
If anything is an S, then it is a P. If something is not a P, then it is not an S.

Each S is a P.
S are always P. The only S are P.

S are all P.
Only P are S. Only if something is a P is it an S. Something is an S only if it is a P.

Common stylistic variants

A: No S are P
No P are S. S are not P. Nothing that is an S is a P. No one who is an S is a P. None of the S is a P. Not a single S is P. If anything is an S then it is not a P. All S are non-P.

Common stylistic variants

A: Some S are P
Some P are S. A few S are P. There are S that are P. Several S are P. Many S are P. Most S are P.

Nearly all S are P.

Common stylistic variants

A: Some S are NOT P
Not all S are P.
Not everyone who is an S is a P. S are not always P.

Some S are non-P.

There are S that are not P. A few S are not P.

Several S are not P.

Most S are not P. Nearly all S are not P.

Practice: Translate the following only sentences into standard categorical form.
1. Only doctors are psychiatrists.
2. Only fools rush in.

3. Employees restroom only.

4. None except senior citizens are eligible for the discount. 5. Teachers alone may use the Teachers Lounge.

Practice: Translate the following only sentences into standard categorical form.
1. Only doctors are psychiatrists. All psychiatrists are doctors. 2. Only fools rush in. All people who rush in are fools. 3. Employees restroom only. All people who use the restroom are employees. 4. None except senior citizens are eligible for the discount. All people who are eligible for the discount are senior citizens. 5. Teachers alone may use the Teachers Lounge. All people who may use the Teachers Lounge are teachers.

Practice: Translate the following sentences into standard categorical form.

1. There are birds that cannot sing. (Q.13, p236)
2. The grass is always greener on the other side. (Q.16, p236)

3. Polar bears live in Canada. (Q.19, p236)

4. If you dont learn this lesson, youre not here today. 5. Not all friendly teachers are easy-going.

Practice: Translate the following sentences into standard categorical form.

1. There are birds that cannot sing. (Q.13, p236) Some birds are animals that cannot sing. 2. The grass is always greener on the other side. (Q.16, p236) All places on the other side are places where grass is greener. 3. Polar bears live in Canada. (Q.19, p236) Some polar bears are animals which live in Canada. 4. If you dont learn this lesson, youre not here today. All non-learners of this lessons are absentees today. 5. Not all friendly teachers are easy-going. Some friendly teachers are not easy-going teachers.

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form

Tip 1: Rephrase all nonstandard subject and predicate terms so that

they refer to categories.

Tip 2: Rephrase all nonstandard verbs. Tip 3: Fill in any unexpressed quantifiers. Tip 4: Translate singular statements into all, no or some statements. Tip 5: Translate stylistic variants into the appropriate categorical

form.

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form

Tip 1: Rephrase all nonstandard subject and predicate terms so that they refer to categories.

Some roses are white. Some roses are white flowers. S P

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form Tip 2: Rephrase all nonstandard verbs. Some students walk to school. Some students are people who walk to school. S C P

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form

Tip 3: Fill in any unexpressed quantifiers.

Vietnamese people are friendly. Some Vietnamese people are friendly people. Q S C P

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form

Tip 4: Translate singular statements as all or no statements.

Paris is the capital of France. All places identical with Paris are places that are Q S C P the capital of France.

Part 2: Translating into standard categorical form

Tip 5: Translate stylistic variants into the appropriate categorical form. Every S is a P. S are always P. All S are P. Any S is a P.

Part 3: Testing validity using Venn Diagrams

Testing validity of categorical syllogism

A categorical deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion.
Ex: All snakes (S) are reptiles (R). All reptiles are cold-blooded animals (C). So, all snakes are cold-blooded animals.

Sample 1

The two lower circles represent the two categories in the conclusion.

All S are R. All R are C. All S are C.

All snakes (S) are reptiles (R). All reptiles are cold-blooded animals (C). So, all snakes are cold-blooded animals.

There are three steps in this process:

1. Draw premise one. 2. Draw premise two. 3. Check the validity.

Step 1. - Shade the area where snakes are not reptiles.

All snakes (S) are reptiles (R). All reptiles are cold-blooded animals (C). So, all snakes are cold-blooded animals.

All S are R. All R are C. All S are C.

Step 2. - Shade the area where reptiles are not cold-blooded animals.

All snakes (S) are reptiles (R). All reptiles are cold-blooded animals (C). So, all snakes are cold-blooded animals.

All S are R. All R are C. All S are C.

Step 3. - The conclusion tells us that all snakes are cold-blooded animals. The area of the Snake circle that does not overlap the Cold-blooded circle must be shaded. - The drawing clearly shows that the conclusion is necessarily true. This is a valid syllogism.

All snakes (S) are reptiles (R). All reptiles are cold-blooded animals (C). So, all snakes are cold-blooded animals.

All S are R. All R are C. All S are C.

Sample 2

All educated people respect books. Some bookstore personnel are not truly educated. Some bookstore personnel dont respect books. B Translated into standard form Be clear that: E = Educated people R = People who respect books B = Bookstore personnel All E are R Some B are not E Some B are not R

All E are R Some B are not E Some B are not R

Draw the first premise. All E are inside R, so we know that the rest of E is empty. We represent this empty area by shading it.

All E are R Some B are not E Some B are not R

Now the second premise. We read some as at least one and represent it with an X. So we want to put an X inside the B circle but outside of the E circle.

X B R

All E are R Some B are not E Some B are not R So, is the conclusion necessarily true? Is it true that some B are not R?
B

X
R

No, this is an invalid argument. The X shows that there may be some B that are not R, but not necessarily.

Sample 3
I

No islands are part of the mainland. Hawaii is an island. Therefore, Hawaii is not on the mainland. Translated into standard form No I are M All H are I No H are M

Be clear that: I = Islands M = Mainland places H = (Places identical to) Hawaii

No I are M All H are I No H are M

Step 1: Draw the first premise.
H

Step 2: Draw the second premise. H M

Step 3: Check if the part in H not overlapping M is shaded? Yes, this is a valid argument!

Sample 4
C M Some modems are cable connections. Some cable connections are digital. Thus, some modems are digital. D Some M are C Some C are D Some M are D

Some modems are cable connections. Some cable connections are digital. Thus, some modems are digital.
D Translated into standard form C Some M are C Some C are D Some M are D C Invalid
X XX

If you apply the step by step approach to using Venn Diagrams you will quickly become an expert. Keep these things in mind: 1. Put your syllogism in standard form first. 2. Be consistent in how you draw your diagram: always

shade the premises with No and All before putting the X

for Some. 3. Test validity by looking for the necessity of the conclusion.

PRACTICE
Translate the following into standard categorical form. Then use Venn diagrams to test their validity.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

All my Critical Thinking students are bright guys and girls. No bright guys and girls sleep in class. Therefore, no Critical Thinking students sleep in class.

All CT students are bright people. No bright people are class sleepers.
Therefore, no CT students are class sleepers.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

All men who dont give flowers to their sweethearts on March 8 are not romantic. Some unromantic men are not ideal partners. Therefore, some men who dont give flowers to their sweethearts on March 8 are not ideal partners!

All no-flower men on March 8 are unromantic people. Some unromantic people are not ideal partners.
Therefore, some no-flower men on March 8 are not ideal partners.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

Some students who register for Critical Thinking are frequently absent. All students who are frequently absent cannot take the tests. Therefore, some students who register for Critical Thinking cannot take the test.

Some CT students are frequent absentees. All frequent absentees are not test takers. Therefore, some CT students are not test takers.

Classwork

There are e-mail messages that are not spell-checked. There are interofce memos that are e-mail messages. Therefore, there are interofce memos that are not spell-checked. If anything is a truck, then it is not a car. There are Mazdas that are trucks. It follows that there are Mazdas that are not cars. Every person who drinks and drives is an irresponsible person. Not every person who talks on a car phone is an irresponsible person. Hence, not every person who talks on a car phone is a person who drinks and drives. Joey is in kindergarten. Only children in kindergarten ngerpaint in school. So, Joey ngerpaints in school.

FURTHER PRACTICE
Use Venn diagrams to test the validity of the following arguments.

Test the validity of the argument

No sharks are pets, since no barracuda are pets, and no sharks are barracuda.

No barracuda are pets. No sharks are barracuda. So, no sharks are pets.

Test the validity of the argument

Some bankers are vegetarians. No anarchists are bankers. So, some anarchists are not vegetarians.

Some bankers are vegetarians. No anarchists are bankers. So, some anarchists are not vegetarians.

Test the validity of the argument

No fish are reptiles. All trout are fish. So, some trout are not reptiles.

No fish are reptiles. All trout are fish. So, some trout are not reptiles.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

No one who is a Nobel Prize winner is a rock star. A number of astrophysicists are Nobel Prize winners. Therefore, a number of astrophysicists are not rock stars.

No Nobel Prize winners are rock stars. Some astrophysicists are Nobel Prize winners .
Therefore, some astrophysicists are not rock stars.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

At least one lawyer is not a golfer. Only persons who have attended law school are lawyers. So, at least one person who has attended law school is not a golfer.

Some lawyers are not golfers. All lawyers are persons who have attended law school. So, some persons who have attended law school are not golfers.

Translate the argument into standard form, and test its validity

Every tax evader is a lawbreaker. Hence, because no one who is a lawbreaker is a model citizen, no one who is a model citizen is a tax evader.

All tax evaders are lawbreakers. No lawbreakers are model citizens. So, no model citizens are tax evaders.