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    Categorical Proposition

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    Nishant Ghag 517
    The document discusses categorical propositions, which relate two classes through affirmation or denial of a predicate for a subject. It defines the four types of categorical propositions based on quality (affirmative or negative) and quantity (universal or particular), and examines their relationships through opposition and truth tables.

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    Categorical Proposition

    Uploaded by

    Nishant Ghag 517
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    The document discusses categorical propositions, which relate two classes through affirmation or denial of a predicate for a subject. It defines the four types of categorical propositions based on quality (affirmative or negative) and quantity (universal or particular), and examines their relationships through opposition and truth tables.

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    The document discusses categorical propositions, which relate two classes through affirmation or denial of a predicate for a subject. It defines the four types of categorical propositions based on quality (affirmative or negative) and quantity (universal or particular), and examines their relationships through opposition and truth tables.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    7 views7 pages

    Categorical Proposition

    Uploaded by

    Nishant Ghag 517
    The document discusses categorical propositions, which relate two classes through affirmation or denial of a predicate for a subject. It defines the four types of categorical propositions based on quality (affirmative or negative) and quantity (universal or particular), and examines their relationships through opposition and truth tables.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Categorical Proposition

    Categorical Propositions:

    Categorical proposition is a proposition of relationship between two classes


    referred to as the class of subject term and the class of predicate term.

    By a ‘class’ Aristotle means a collection of all individuals, objects etc that have
    some specified characteristic in common. A categorical proposition affirms or
    denies a predicate of a subject absolutely. i.e. without any condition. It is
    unconditional Proposition. For example: ‘All Chilies are pungent’. The
    pungency of chilly is not determined by any condition.

    Every Categorical proposition has both quality and quantity. Quality of


    Categorical proposition means that the propositions either assert something or
    deny something. It is either an Affirmative or Negative proposition. A
    Categorical proposition is affirmative when its predicate term is affirmed of the
    subject term and it is negative when its predicate term is denied of the subject
    term.

    For example:

    (1) Some people are honest.

    (2) No Elephants are carnivorous animals.

    The first proposition is affirmative, as in this proposition, the predicate term


    ‘honest’ is affirmed of the subject term ‘people’ and the second proposition is
    negative, as in this proposition, the predicate term ‘carnivorous animals’ is
    denied of the subject term ‘Elephants’.

    Every Categorical proposition has quantity. A Categorical proposition may


    assert or deny something about the predicate term. The assertion or denial may
    refer to either entire (whole) class or some members (part) of the class of
    subject term. A Categorical Proposition is either Universal or Particular.

    It is Universal when it refers to all members of the class of the Subject term and
    it is Particular when it refers to some members of the class of the Subject term.
    For example :

    (1) All chess players are logical.

    (2) Some languages are difficult.

    The first proposition is Universal, as in this proposition the subject term i.e. ‘the
    class of chess players’ refers to the entire class to which it applies and the
    second proposition is Particular, as in this proposition the subject term i.e. ‘the
    class of languages’ refers to some members of the class to which it applies.

    Classification of Categorical Propositions


    According to quality, propositions are classified into Affirmative and Negative
    and according to quantity, they are classified as Universal and Particular. Thus
    on the basis of these two principles of quality and quantity, there are four kinds
    of propositions. This is called the ‘Traditional scheme’ of Propositions. It is also

    called as Fourfold classification of propositions. The four kinds of propositions


    included in Traditional scheme are as follows:

    (1) Universal Affirmative (‘A’ Proposition):

    When the proposition is universal in quantity and affirmative in quality, it is


    called Universal Affirmative proposition. This proposition asserts that the whole
    of one class i.e. the class of subject term is included in another class i.e. the
    class of Predicate term.

    Eg.‘All Teachers are qualified’.

    This proposition asserts that every member of the class of subject term,
    ‘Teachers’, is a member of another class of predicate term, ‘qualified persons’.
    Any Universal Affirmative proposition can be written schematically as follows:

    ‘All S is P’.
    Where the letters ‘S’ and ‘P’ represent the subject and predicate terms,
    respectively. This proposition is also called as ‘A’ proposition. It affirms that
    the relation of inclusion holds between two classes and says that the inclusion is
    complete. (i.e. universal) All members of class ‘S’ are said to be, also the
    members of class ‘P’. In other words class S is wholly included in class ‘P’.

    (2) Universal Negative (‘E’ Proposition):

    When the proposition is universal in quantity and negative in quality, it is called


    Universal Negative proposition. This proposition asserts that the whole of one
    class i.e. the class of subject term is excluded from another class i.e. the class of
    Predicate term.

    Eg. No lions are Tigers.

    This proposition asserts that every member of the class of subject term, ‘Lions’,
    is not a member of another class of predicate term, ‘Tigers’. Any Universal
    Negative proposition can be written schematically as follows:

    ‘No S is P’.

    Where ‘S’ and ‘P’ represent the subject and predicate terms, respectively. This

    proposition is also called as ‘E’ proposition. It denies the relation of inclusion


    between two classes universally. No members of class ‘S’ are members of class
    ‘P’. This proposition asserts that class of subject term, S is wholly excluded

    from class of predicate term ‘P’.

    (3) Particular Affirmative (‘I’ Proposition):

    When the proposition is particular in quantity and affirmative in quality, it is


    called Particular Affirmative Proposition. This proposition asserts that Some
    members of one class i.e. the class of Subject term are included in another class
    i.e. the class of predicate term.

    Eg. ‘Some books are amusing’.


    This proposition Asserts that some members of the class of subject term
    ‘books’ are included in another class of predicate term ‘amusing’. Any
    Particular Affirmative proposition may be schematically written as

    ‘Some S is P’.

    which says that at least one member of class of subject term ‘S’ is also

    the member of the class of predicate term ‘P’. This proposition is also called as
    ‘I’ Proposition. It affirms the relation of inclusion between two classes partially.
    It asserts that the class of subject term, ‘S’ is partially included in class of

    predicate term ‘P’.

    (4) Particular Negative (‘O’ Proposition):

    When the Proposition is particular in quantity and negative in quality, it is


    called Particular Negative Proposition. This proposition asserts that some
    members of one class i.e. class of subject term are excluded from another class

    i.e. the class of predicate term.

    Eg. Some animals are not wild.

    This proposition asserts that some members of the class of subject term,
    ‘animals’ are excluded from another class of predicate term ‘Wild beings’. Any
    Particular Negative proposition may be schematically written as

    ‘Some S is not P’, which says that at least one member of the class of subject
    term ‘S’ is not the member of the class of predicate term ‘P’. This proposition is
    also called as ‘O’ Proposition. It denies the relation of inclusion between two
    classes partially. It asserts that the class of subject term, ‘S’ is partially excluded
    from the class of predicate term ‘P’.
    Inference by Opposition of Propositions:
    Opposition of Propositions is the relation between any two kinds of Categorical

    propositions having the same subject and predicate terms, but differing in either

    quantity, quality or both quantity and quality. Considering A, E, I, O in pairs we


    get four kinds of oppositions, which are correlated with some

    important truth relations, as follows:

    (1) Contradictory relation [Contradictories]:

    Two standard forms of categorical propositions that have the same subject and
    predicate terms, but differ from each other in both quantity and quality are
    contradictories.

    Thus ‘A’ Proposition and ‘O’ Propositions are contradictories.

    For example: ‘All lawyers are fighters’ is an ‘A’ Proposition and

    ‘Some lawyers are not fighters is ‘O’ Proposition.

    Similarly, ‘E’ Proposition and ‘I’ Propositions are contradictories.

    For example: ‘No pilots are Marine Engineers’, is ‘E’ Proposition and

    ‘Some pilots and Marine Engineers’, is ‘I’ Proposition.

    Both the contradictories cannot be true together and the contradictories cannot
    be false together.

    (2) Contrary relation [Contraries]:

    Traditionally, a pair of Universal Propositions having the same subject and


    predicate terms but which differ in quality are contraries. Thus ‘A’

    Proposition and ‘E’ Proposition are contraries.

    For example: ‘All artists are creative persons’, is ‘A’ Proposition and

    ‘No artists are creative persons’, is ‘E’ Proposition.


    The contraries cannot be true together, but may be false together.

    (3) Sub-Contrary relation [Sub-Contraries]:

    Traditionally, a pair of Particular Propositions having the same subject and

    predicate terms but which differ in quality are Sub-contraries. Thus ‘I’
    Proposition and ‘O’ Proposition are Sub-contraries.

    For example : ‘Some rich men are handsome’, is ‘I’ Proposition and

    ‘Some rich men are not handsome’, is ‘O’ Proposition.

    The Sub-contraries may be true together, but cannot be false together.

    (4) Sub-Altern relation:

    When two Categorical propositions with the same subject and predicate terms,
    agree in quality but differ in quantity, are called corresponding propositions.
    Thus ‘A’ Proposition and ‘I’ Propositions are corresponding.

    For example: ‘All branded things are expensive’, is ‘A’ Proposition and

    ‘Some branded things are expensive’, is ‘I’ Proposition.

    Both these propositions are corresponding propositions.

    Similarly, ‘E’ Proposition and ‘O’ Propositions are corresponding propositions.

    For example: ‘No Monkeys are donkeys’, is ‘E’ Proposition and

    ‘Some Monkeys are not donkey’ is ‘O’ Proposition.


    Traditional Logician Aristotle has shown the relation between four kinds of
    Categorical Propositions in a square as shown below:

    The Truth value Table

    True False True False


    A E I O
    E A O I
    I O? A? E
    O I? E? A

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