UNIT 5 CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS*

Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Proposition
5.3 Concept of Proposition in Classical Logic
5.4 Concept of Proposition in Modern Logic
5.5 Categorical Proposition
5.6 The four kinds of Standard form Categorical Propositions
5.7 Venn Diagrammatical Representation
5.8 General Schema of Standard form Categorical Proposition
5.9 Let Us Sum Up
*
Dr. Tarang Kapoor, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Daulat Ram College, University of
Delhi.
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5.10 Key Words
5.11 Further Readings and References
5.12 Answers to check your Progress

5.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit has the objective of understanding the nature of categorical propositions; the
fundamental unit of a categorical syllogism. At the end of the unit the learner will enable to
understand,
• the difference between sentence and proposition,
• categorical propositions and the types of propositions in classical and modern logic.
• four kinds of categorical propositions and the structure of standard form categorical
proposition.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
The theory of categorical propositions takes the central position in Logic. It was given by
Aristotle more than 2000 years ago. The importance of this contribution lasts even today as in
our day to day ordinary life we either use categorical propositions or sentences, which are easily
translatable into categorical propositions. Categorical propositions are the building blocks or
constituents of a categorical syllogism; the fundamental form of argument used in human
reasoning. Logical reasoning is concerned with constructing arguments, analyzing the structure
of arguments and evaluating them to check whether they are valid or invalid. All arguments are
built with propositions. Let us begin the unit by examining the concept of a proposition.

5.2 PROPOSITION
In logic the unit of reasoning is called proposition. A proposition is either asserted or denied.
Both premises and conclusion in an argument are propositions. Proposition is a declarative
statement of facts, which asserts that something is (or is not) the case, and therefore it is either
true or false. For example, ‘Dogs are mammals’, ‘Pigeons are birds’, ‘Knives are sharp objects’
etc. It is important to distinguish a proposition from a sentence. Sentence is a grammatical unit
expressed in any particular language. A proposition is different from imperative, exclamatory or
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interrogative sentences. Although questions are asked, commands are given and exclamations are
uttered but unlike a proposition they cannot be asserted or denied. Truth and falsity are applied to
propositions and do not apply to questions, commands and exclamations. Although interrogative
sentences are in the form of a question, like, Did Rohan come to class today?, Will you have
lunch with me today? which can be answered in either yes or no but they are neither true nor
false. Similarly, imperative sentences are in the form of a command, like, Give me a glass of
water! Open the door! which can neither be true nor false. Moreover, exclamatory sentences,
like, Hurray! we won the match, Wow! that was a great song and others can neither be true nor
false. It is significant to note that an essential feature of being a proposition is that it is either true
or false. Only informative, declarative and factual sentences are propositions. However, we
might not know about the truth or falsity of a given proposition. A proposition is true when it
describes the facts correctly and false when it does not. For example, although at present, due to
limited research, we are unaware about the truth or falsity of the proposition, ‘The corona virus is
curable’ but it is certain that either it is true i.e. there is a cure for the virus or it is false i.e. the
virus is incurable.

Furthermore, two sentences can be used to assert or deny the same proposition. Given the same
context, two sentences, which are composed of different words and arranged differently, have the
same meaning. We take two sentences;
Playing hockey is known to Sushma.
Sushma knows to play hockey.
These two declarative sentences have exactly the same meaning despite being two different
sentences on several counts, like, first contains 6 words and second contains 5 words, they begin
with different words etc. Also, the same sentence can be used in different contexts to make very
different statements. On change in the temporal context the same sentence can give rise to
different propositions. Propositions may be simple as well as compound. Moreover, a sentence is
a sentence in the particular language in which it is used. However, Propositions are not peculiar
to any language. A given proposition can be asserted in many languages. For example;
It is snowing. (English)
Il neige. (French)
பன ெபாழிகிற (Tamil)
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‫ﺑﺮف ﺑﺎري ﭤﻲ رھﻲ آ‬ (Sindhi)

बफ िगर रही है| (Hindi)

All the five sentences in English, French, Tamil, Sindhi and Hindi languages mentioned above
are certainly different as they are sentences in different languages. Still they have the same
meaning and are uttered to assert the same proposition “It is snowing.” Also, the composition of
same words can be used to assert different propositions at different times. Some writers prefer
the word “statement” instead of “proposition.” However, for our purpose we shall use the term
“proposition.”
Historically, in order to provide us with techniques to discriminate between valid and invalid
arguments two types of theories have been developed.
1. “Classical” or “Aristotelian Logic”
2. “Modern” or “Modern Symbolic Logic”

5.2.1 “Classical” or “Aristotelian Logic”

Classical Logic is named after Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher. Aristotle has contributed
to nearly all fields of human knowledge. He is known as the founder of logic and one of the first
scholars to systematically study propositions and arguments. His works on reasoning are
gathered under the name Organon. Organon contains the subject matter of Classical Logic. In
the present block and unit we shall develop an understanding of Classical Logic.

5.3 CONCEPT OF PROPOSITION IN CLASSICAL LOGIC

Propositions are building blocks of every argument. A proposition carries a subject term, a
predicate term and a copula. For example, in the proposition “Cats are mammals”, ‘Cats’ is
subject, ‘mammals’ is predicate and ‘is’ is copula. On the basis of truth value there are three
kinds of propositions. A proposition which is always true is a called tautology. For example,
“Men are mortal”, “No squares are circles”, “Dogs are mammals” etc. A proposition which is
always false is called contradictory or self contradictory. For example, “Men are immortal”,
“Hydrogen is Nitrogen”, “All triangles are circles” etc. A proposition which does not have a
fixed truth value, i.e. is true in some case and false in some others, is called contingent. For

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example, “It is cold”, “Ram is the most intelligent boy in the town”, might be true right now but
they may be false at a different time.

Traditionally, philosophers have divided propositions into two groups:

1. Categorical Propositions
2. Conditional Propositions

Propositions

Categorical Conditional

Universal Particular Hypothetical Disjunctive

Universal Affirmative Universal Negative

Particular Affirmative Particular Negative
(A type) (E type)
(I type) (O type)

Figure1: Traditional Classification of Propositions (Jain, 2014, p.37)

Categorical propositions are subject of our discussion in the present unit. We shall briefly
explain conditional propositions i.e. Hypothetical propositions and Disjunctive propositions in
the modern classification of propositions.

5.4 CONCEPT OF A PROPOSITION IN MODERN LOGIC

Modern Logic has its origin in the first half of the nineteenth century. Unlike traditional Logic,
Modern logicians move beyond the traditional methods, principles and rules of deriving validity
and invalidity of an argument. George Boole, Alferd North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell are
prominent Modern Logicians. Modern Logic is used to test the validity of all variety of
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arguments. Its methods are used in computers, electric switching circuits, artificial intelligence
and other modern day technology. The modern logicians broadly accept the traditional account
of propositions but their classification is different from them. This difference is due to existential
import of the propositions. We shall study the concept of existential import in a separate unit of
this block. Modern logicians have given the following classification of propositions:
1. Categorical Propositions
A. Singular (simple)
B. General
2. Compound Propositions

5.4.1 Categorical Propositions

5.4.1.1 Singular Propositions: A categorical proposition is singular when the subject term of the
proposition is a proper name or one specific individual or object. Few examples are,
“Raman is student of this College”, “Himalayas are the highest mountain ranges in the
world”, “Gita is daughter of Lakshmi” etc.

5.4.1.2 General Propositions: In case of a general proposition the subject refers either to all
members of a class or to some members of a class. There are two types of
generalizations; either universal or particular. In the next section on categorical
proposition we will see universal and particular propositions can be of two types
depending on whether they affirm or deny the case (refer to fig.2) Traditional logicians
add general propositions under universal propositions without ascribing any special status
to them. However, singular propositions are neither universal nor particular but they have
a unique status.
Furthermore, traditionally logicians, like, Aristotle have recognized that there is only one
form of categorical proposition i.e. “Subject-Predicate form” (form which ascribes predicate
to a subject). However, apart from this other relations can exist between subject and predicate
of a singular proposition. Let us take few examples:
1. Raman is a hardworking student.
2. Raman is daughter of Lakshmi.
3. Raman is younger sister of Shubham.
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According to modern logicians the first proposition has “subject-predicate form.” “Raman” is the
subject and the predicate “a hard working student” is ascribed to him. The other two propositions
are relational propositions i.e. they state that the two things have a certain relation with each
other. In the second, Raman and Lakshmi have daughter-mother relation with each other. In the
third, Raman and Shubham are related as sister and brother with each other. These relational
propositions can never be reduced to subject-predicate propositions and are fundamentally
different from them.
5.4.2 Compound Propositions
A compound proposition is constructed by two or more categorical propositions. Compound
propositions are of three kinds:
5.4.2.1 Conjunctive Propositions: Two categorical propositions joined by ‘and’ give rise to
conjunctive proposition. For example, “Krishna is polite and intelligent”, “Rekha is
curious and funny” etc.

5.4.2.2 Disjunctive Propositions: When two categorical propositions are joined by the relation
of ‘either or’ then it is called disjunctive proposition. For example, “Either Ram is in
class or he is in the medical room”, “Either I will have apple or I will have banana” etc.

5.4.2.3 Hypothetical Propositions: When two categorical propositions are joined by ‘if then’
relation then they produce a hypothetical proposition. For example, “If I get this job then
I can buy a car”, “If we go out then we can go mountain climbing” etc. (Jain, 2014,
p.61-63)

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 Proposition

Categorical Compound

Singular General Conjunctive Disjunctive Hypothetical

Singular Singular
Universal Particular
Affirmative Negative

Universal Universal Particular Particular

Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative
A type E type I type O type

Figure 2: Modern Classification of Propositions (Jain, 2014, p.63)

Check your Progress I

Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.

b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.

1. Write a note on the following:

a) Modern categorization of propositions
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5.5 CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS

In Classical or Aristotelian logic the deductive reasoning focuses on analyzing arguments which
carry propositions of a distinct variety, namely, categorical propositions. Categorical
propositions are building blocks of classical theory of deduction as they
they are fundamental units
which form a Categorical syllogism. A Categorical proposition is a proposition which relates to
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classes or categories. These classes are denoted by subject terms and predicate terms. Class is
understood as a collection of all objects that have a common specific characteristic. Categorical
propositions either affirm or deny, that all or part of the class denoted by the subject term S is
included in or excluded from the class denoted by the predicate term P. Let us take example of
an argument to understand the relation between subject and predicate terms in categorical
propositions:

All philosophers are scientists.

Some philosophers are mathematicians.
Therefore, some mathematicians are scientists.

All three propositions used in this argument, both premises and conclusion are categorical
propositions. All three categorical propositions are about classes; class of all philosophers, class
of some mathematicians and class of some scientists. The first proposition asserts that the entire
class of philosophers is included in the class of scientists. The second proposition asserts that
some members of the class of philosophers are also members of the class of mathematicians. The
third proposition asserts that some members of the class of mathematicians are also members of
the class of scientists.
Introduction to Logic identifies three ways in which classes may be related to one another.
1. If every member of one class is also a member of a second class, like the class of lizards
and the class of reptiles, then the first class is said to be included or contained in the
second.
2. If the two classes have no members in common, like the class of all buildings and the
class of all plants, the two classes may be said to exclude one another.
3. If some members but not all of them are also members of another, like the class of
hockey players and class of athletes, then the first class may be said to be partially
contained in the second class. (Copi et al., 2016, p.101)
All these various relationships between classes are affirmed or denied by categorical
propositions. Based on these relationships we have exactly four types of categorical propositions.

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5.6 THE FOUR KINDS OF STANDARD FORM CATEGORICAL
PROPOSITIONS
A standard form categorical proposition expresses the relation between the two classes with
complete clarity. For a categorical proposition to be in standard form it has to be a substitution
instance of one of the four forms given below:
1. Universal Affirmative Proposition: All S are P.
2. Universal Negative Proposition: No S is P.
3. Particular Affirmative Proposition: Some S is P.
4. Particular Negative Proposition: Some S is not P.

The letters S and P represent the subject and the predicate terms. Let us examine each standard
form categorical proposition.

5.6.1 Universal Affirmative Proposition

A universal affirmative proposition asserts that every member of the first class is also a
member of the second class. We should note that the opposite is not true. For example,
‘All scientists are philosophers.’ This proposition is about two classes scientists and
philosophers and says that the subject term; class of scientists is included in the predicate
term i.e. class of philosophers entirely. The name “Universal Affirmative” signifies that
the whole subject class is included in the predicate class. The relationship of class
inclusion holds between these two classes and class inclusion is complete or universal.
Hence, all members of S are members of P.

5.6.2 Universal Negative Proposition

A universal negative proposition asserts that the first class is wholly excluded from the
second class. For example, ‘No scientists are philosophers.’ The proposition claims that
there is no member of class of scientists who is also a member of the class of
philosophers. It denies universally that scientists are philosophers. The name “Universal
Negative” signifies that the proposition denies that the relation of class inclusion holds

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 between the two classes and denies it universally. Hence, no members of S are members
of P.

5.6.3 Particular Affirmative Proposition

A particular affirmative proposition asserts that at least one member of the class
designated by the subject term S is also a member of the class designated by the predicate
term P. For example, ‘Some scientists are philosophers.’ Some members of the class of
all scientists are also members of the class of all philosophers. But they do not affirm this
class inclusion of all scientists as philosophers universally. Not all scientists universally
but some particular scientists are said to be philosophers. However, it is important to note
here that the word ‘some’ is indefinite in meaning. There is an ambiguity in defining the
meaning of the word as it can be taken to indicate a whole range of meanings like, at least
one, at least two, at least a hundred and many more. In our day-to-day usage the meaning
of the term is determined by context of usage. In logic, it is customary to regard the word
‘some’ as meaning ‘at least one.’ The name “particular affirmative” signifies that the
proposition affirms that the relationship of class inclusion holds; does not affirm it of the
subject class universally but only partially, of some particular member or members of the
subject class. Hence, some members of S are members of P.

5.6.4 Particular Negative Proposition

A particular negative proposition affirms that at least one member of the class designated
by the subject term S is excluded from the whole of the class designated by the predicate
term P. For example, ‘Some scientists are not philosophers.’ Like the Particular
Affirmative Proposition this proposition is particular in as much as one does not refer to
scientists universally being philosophers but at least one member or some members of
that class. The name “particular negative” signifies that the proposition denies that the
relationship of class inclusion does not hold for the subject class universally but only
partially, of some particular member or members of subject class. Unlike the particular
affirmative propositions, which affirm that the particular member or members of the
subject class referred to are included in the predicate class, the particular negative
propositions deny it. Hence, some members of S are not members of P.
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Patrick J. Hurley and Lori Watson in their book A Concise Introduction to Logic argue that since
the early middle ages the four kinds of categorical propositions have commonly been designated
by letter names corresponding to the first four vowels of the Roman alphabet: A E I O.
Universal affirmative propositions Called A propositions
Universal negative propositions Called E propositions
Particular affirmative propositions Called I propositions
Particular negative propositions Called O propositions

Traditionally, it is believed that these letters were derived from the first two vowels in the Latin
words; Affirm and Nego.
• Affirm (“I affirm”)
• Nego (“I deny”)

n
UNIVERSAL A E
f
f g
PARTICULAR I O
r
m
o

Table 1: source: (Hurley and Watson, 2019, p. 211)

Check your Progress II
Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.
b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.
1. Write a note on the following:
a) Categorical Proposition

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5.7 VENN DIAGRAMMATICAL REPRESENTATION

English logician and mathematician John Venn (1834-1923) invented Venn Diagrams. These
diagrams are used to graphically exhibit each and every categorical proposition. The categorical
propositions can be diagrammatical represented with the usage of two interlocking circles, which
stand for two classes involved. The visual representation of the class relationships within a
categorical proposition is shown with the technique of shading in case of no member to show the
class empty. The figure below shows the shaded portion stands for no membership in a class and
the presence of members in a class is designated by ‘x’. Moreover, we shall discover in the
upcoming units that Venn Diagrams are extremely useful in appraising the validity of categorical
arguments.

Figure 3
No membership Membership

We label circle S, for “subject class”, and the other circle P, for “predicate class.”
Symbols ̅ and and used to indicate the regions which are “not S” and “not A”. They are called
S-bar and A-bar indicating the overbar on top of the letter symbols. These symbols refer to
complementary classes. We shall understand the concept of a complementary class in the
upcoming unit. In this unit, we shall use the two symbols to understand the regions as illustrated
in the figure:
Symbol ̅ designates the region which is ‘not S.’
Symbol designates the region which is ‘not P.’
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Figure 4
S P a
[Type

̅
S SP

5.7.1 Universal Affirmative Propositions

The A proposition asserts, “All students are hard working people”. Our diagrammatical
representation shows that there is a portion of S which is included in P. The figure designates
that all members of class S are members of class P. Also, the diagram shows S (that portion
of S that stands outside of P) is shaded out, indicating that there are no members of S that are
not members of P. The A proposition is diagrammatically represented in the following
manner:

Figure 5: All S is P S P

5.7.2 Universal Negative Propositions

An E Proposition “No students are hardworking people” universally denies that any member of
class of students is a member of the class of hardworking people. The diagram exhibits this
mutual exclusion by shading out SP (overlapping portion of the two circles representing S and P
classes) indicating that there are no members in the common area between S and P. The E
proposition is diagrammatically represented in the following manner:

S 129
P
Figure 6: No S is P

5.7.3 Particular Affirmative Propositions

An I Proposition “Some students are hardworking people” asserts that there is at least one
member of the class of students who is also a member of the class of hardworking people.
Membership is shown by placing an x in SP (the overlapping region between the two circles)
indicating that there is at least one member in the common area between the two classes. I
proposition is diagrammatically represented in the following manner:

S P
Figure 7: Some S is P

5.7.4 Particular Negative Propositions

An O proposition “Some students are not hard working” states that there is at least one member
in the class of students who is not a member of class of hardworking people. The diagram
indicates that there is at least one member of S that is not a member of P. This is shown by
placing an x in S (the region of S that is outside of P) indicating that there is at least one
member in the region of S which is not a region of P. O proposition is diagrammatically
represented in the following manner:
Figure 8: Some S is not P

S P

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Moreover, we should note few important points about the Categorical Propositions:
• Many times we find categorical propositions are not in standard form. Not all standard
form categorical propositions are as simple and clear as the four examples discussed
above. Many times they do not straight away begin with the words “all”, “no”, or
“some”. For example, ‘Dogs are mammals’, ‘Few horses are white’ etc. In Unit 3 we
shall discuss the translation of such categorical propositions to standard form. Also, at
times the subject and predicate terms of categorical propositions are expressed in a
complicated manner. For example, “All S are not P” is not even a standard form
categorical proposition.
• Words “all”, “no” and “some” are referred to as quantifiers as they tell us how much of
the subject class is included in and excluded from the predicate class. “All” as a
quantifier tell us that the whole subject class is included in the predicate class. “No” as a
quantifier tells us that the whole subject class is excluded from the predicate class. In
affirmative categorical propositions “Some” as a quantifier tells us that at least one
member of the subject class is included in the predicate class. In negative categorical
propositions “some” as a quantifier tells us that at least one member of the subject class is
excluded from the predicate class. There are exactly three forms of quantifiers (“All”,
“No” and “Some”). The next unit will discuss issues of Quality, Quantity and
Distribution in details.
• There is a difference between “subject” and “subject term” as well as “predicate” and
“predicate term.” What we mean by “subject” and “predicate” in grammar is not the same
with what we mean by “predicate term” and “subject term” in Logic. Let us take an
example to understand this distinction; “All graduates of Indian Military academy are
commissioned officers in Indian Army.” For grammatical purposes the “subject” of the
above proposition would be “All graduates of Indian Military academy” which would
include the quantifier. Also, for grammatical purpose the “predicate” of the above
proposition would be “are commissioned officers in Indian Army” which would include
the copula. (Hurley and Watson, 2016, p.207-208)

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5.8 GENERAL SCHEMA OF STANDARD FORM
CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION
Standard form categorical propositions have four separate components which do not overlap.
The letters S and P stand for the subject and predicate terms respectively. Between the subject
and the predicate of every standard form categorical propositions stands form of the verb “to be.”
Words “are” and “are not” are called copula because they connect the subject term with the
predicate term. In a standard form categorical proposition forms of copula can be various forms
of verbs “to be” such as “is”, “is not”, “will”, “will not”, “are”, “are not”.
For example;
• All whales are mammals.
• Some freedom fighters were teachers in primary schools.
• Some refugees will not get jobs.
In the propositions mentioned above “are, “were” “will” serve as copulas. However, to maintain
the unity of form in categorical propositions all units in this block only use two varieties of
copula “are” and “are not.” The general schema of a standard form categorical proposition is
composed of four parts. In a proposition: first comes the quantifier, secondly the subject term,
thirdly the copula, and finally the predicate term.
The schema is represented as:
Quantifier (subject term) copula (predicate term)
*In case of a particular negative proposition there is also a negation (mostly ‘not’) after copula
and before predicate term.
Analysis of Standard form categorical proposition is done in the following manner:
All graduates of Indian Military Academy are commissioned officers in Indian Army.
Quantifier: all
Subject term: graduates of Indian Military Academy
Copula: are
Predicate term: commissioned officers in Indian Army

Check your progress III

Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.

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 b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of the unit.

1. Identify the subject term, predicate term, quantifier and copula in the following categorical
propositions:
1. All animal rights activists are people who are motivated by empathy.
2. Some mangoes are not sweet fruits.
3. Some knives are sharp objects.
4. No bachelors are married men.
5. All trucks are vehicles.
6. No roses are marigolds.
7. Some dogs are pets.
8. Some grapes are sour fruits.
9. All buses are vehicles.
10. All reality TV stars are rich people.
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5.9 LET US SUM UP

Our discussion on categorical propositions is summed up with the help of the table below:
Proposition form Name and Type Example
All S is P Universal Affirmative A All dogs are mammals
No S is P Universal Negative E No cats are dogs
Some S is P Particular Affirmative I Some dogs are pets
Some S is not P Particular Negative O Some dogs are not pets

5.10 KEY WORDS

Class: Class is a collection of all objects that have some specific characteristic in common. Eg.
‘dogs’, ‘tables’, ‘animals’, ‘fishes’ and others.

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Categorical Proposition: A proposition that is about classes or categories, which affirm or deny
that either in whole or in part one class S is included in some other class P.
Venn diagram: Diagrammatical representation of a categorical proposition which is used to
display their logical forms by means of overlapping circles.

5.11 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

• Baronett, Stan. (2013). Logic, 3rd Edition, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Chhanda, Chakraborti. (2006). Logic: Informal, Symbolic and Inductive, 2nd Edition,
Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.
• Cohen, Morris R. & Nagel, Ernest. (1968). An Introduction to Logic and Scientific
Method, Delhi: Allied Publishers.
• Copi, Irvin M., Cohen, Carl., & McMahon, Kenneth. (2016). Introduction to Logic, 14th
edition Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.
• Hurley, Patrick J., & Watson, Lori. (2019). A Concise Introduction to Logic, Cengage
Learning India Private Limited.
• Jain, Krishna. (2014). A Text Book of Logic, Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
• Priest, Graham. (2000). Logic: A Very Short Introduction, New York: Oxford University
Press.
• Sen, Madhucchanda. (2008). Logic, Delhi: Pearson.

5.12 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check your Progress I
1. Compound Propositions
A compound proposition is constructed by two or more categorical propositions (singular or
general). They are of three kinds:
A. Conjunctive
B. Disjunctive
C. Hypothetical

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 A. Conjunctive Propositions: Two Categorical propositions joined by ‘and’ make
conjunctive compound propositions. For example, “Tiger roars and is carnivorous.”

B. Disjunctive Propositions: When two categorical propositions are joined by the relation of
‘either or’, then it is called disjunctive proposition. For example, “Either Sheila is in the
gym or she is in the library.”

C. Hypothetical Propositions: When two Categorical propositions are joined by ‘if then’
relation then it produces a hypothetical proposition. For example, “If I get admission to
Fashion Designing course then I can start my own Boutique.”

Check your Progress II

1.
Categorical propositions are building blocks of classical theory of deduction as they are
fundamental units which form a categorical syllogism. A Categorical proposition is a proposition
which relates two classes or categories. These classes are denoted by subject terms and predicate
terms. Class is understood as a collection of all objects that have a specific characteristic in
common. Categorical propositions either affirm or deny, that all or part of the class denoted by
the subject term S is included in or excluded from the class denoted by the predicate term P. Let
us take example of an argument:
All rabbits are fast runners.
Some horses are fast runners.
Therefore, some horses are rabbits.
All three propositions used in this argument, both premises and conclusion are categorical
propositions. All three categorical propositions are about classes; class of all rabbits, class of
some horses and class of some fast runners. The first proposition asserts that the entire class of
rabbits is included in the class of fast runners. The second proposition asserts that some members
of the class of horses are also members of the class of fast runners. The third proposition asserts
that some members of the class of horses are also members of the class of rabbits. Based on
relation of exclusion or inclusion between classes as affirmed or denied by categorical
propositions we have exactly four types of categorical propositions:
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 1. Universal Affirmative Propositions
2. Universal Negative Propositions
3. Particular Affirmative Propositions
4. Particular Negative Propositions

Check your Progress III

1.

1. All animal rights activists are people who are motivated by empathy.

Subject Term: Animal rights activists

Predicate Term: people who are motivated by empathy

Quantifier: All

Copula: are

2. Some mangoes are not sweet fruits.

Subject Term: Mangoes

Predicate Term: sweet fruits

Quantifier: some

Copula: are

3. Some knives are sharp objects.

Subject Term: knives

Predicate Term: sharp objects

Quantifier: some

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Copula: are

4. No bachelors are married men.

Subject Term: bachelors

Predicate Term: married men

Quantifier: No

Copula: are

5. All trucks are vehicles.

Subject Term: Trucks

Predicate Term: vehicles

Quantifier: All

Copula: are

6. No roses are marigolds.

Subject Term: Roses

Predicate Term: Marigolds

Quantifier: No

Copula: are

7. Some dogs are pets.

Subject Term: dogs

137
Predicate Term: pets

Quantifier: Some

Copula: are

8. Some grapes are sour fruits.

Subject Term: grapes

Predicate Term: sour fruits

Quantifier: Some

Copula: are

9. All buses are vehicles.

Subject Term: buses

Predicate Term: vehicles

Quantifier: all

Copula: are

10. All reality TV stars are rich people.

Subject Term: reality TV stars

Predicate Term: rich people

Quantifier: All

Copula: are

138