The Logic of Terms

Term is
 The verbal expression of an idea;
 Also referred to as class or set;
 Usually a noun or pronoun used as a part of a
proposition or a statement, either as subject or
predicate term;
 Sometimes an adjective or a verb used as a predicate
(in use, they are considered substantives equivalent to
a predicate noun);
 An infinitive or a noun-clause used as nouns in a
proposition.
Term…

Note:
Adjectival phrases and clauses, and, for this
matter, any modifier attached to a term, are
not considered as terms, apart from and
independent of the term they modify.
 Identifying Terms
Terms are verbal expressions of ideas thus,
which ones are and which ones are not terms?
Book Coffee Height Color
Hat Scarlet Handsome Beauty
Mind Middle Dance Speak
Speech Audience Audio Ostentatious
Audacity Bilateral Engage Engagement
Habitual Habit Conglomerate Convene
Convention Connive Connivance Conspire
 Identifying Terms
Terms as noun or pronoun used in a proposition:
1. Ferdinand Marcos is the 10th President of the
Republic of the Philippines.
2. The chauffeur is paid with overtime for the extra
service.
3. She might have wondered at the scene before
proceeding further.
4. I gave her the flowers that she has long anticipated
to receive.
 Identifying Terms
Term as adjective or verb used as predicate:
1. The rose is lovely.
2. The horse runs very fast.
 Identifying Terms
Term as infinitive or noun-clause used as a
noun:
1. To live is to desire.
2. Whoever is guilty will be punished.
 The Comprehension and
Extension of Terms
Comprehension (intention or connotation) of
a term refers to the sum total of all intelligible
notes or qualities that make up the meaning
of an idea.

Extension (denotation) is the sum total of all

the individuals and groups to which an idea
can be applied.
 Comprehension and Extension
of a Term
COMPREHENSION
(The sum total of all intelligible notes or qualities that make up the
meaning of an idea.)
Man Rational Sensient Bodily Living Substance

Man Brute Sensient Bodily Living Substance

Man Brute Plant Bodily Living Substance

Man Brute Plant Spirit Living Substance

Man Brute Plant Spirit Mineral Substance

EXTENSION
(The sum total of all individuals and groups to which the meaning
of the term can be applied.)
 Comprehension and Extension
of a Term
From the table, one can infer that:
As the comprehension of the term increases, its
extension decreases;
As the extension of the term increases, its
comprehension decreases; thus
The Comprehension and Extension of a Term are
inversely proportional with each other.
Comprehension and Extension of a Term
Further illustration of Comprehension and Extension in
the order or sequence of terms:

Increasing Comprehension is when each term in the

series connotes more attributes than the one preceding
it.
Ex.: animal, mammal, feline, tiger

Decreasing Comprehension is when each term in the

series connotes less attributes than the one preceding it.

Ex.: tiger, feline, mammal, animal

 Comprehension and Extension in
the order of terms
Increasing Extension is when each term in the
series denotes a class having more members
than the class denoted by the term preceding it.
Ex.: tiger, feline, mammal, animal

Decreasing Extension is when each term in the

series denotes a class having less members than
the class denoted by the term preceding it.
Ex.: animal, mammal, feline, tiger
 Mental Exercise:
I. Name three items denoted by the terms in the
left-hand column below and all items denoted by
the terms in the right-hand column.

newspaper tallest mountain on earth

scientist prime number less than 10
manufacturer Phil. Senator from Bohol
river language in Central Visayas
sci-fi movies Scandinavian countries
 Mental Exercise:
II. Put the following sequences of terms in the order
of increasing intension:

a. conifer, Sitka spruce, tree, spruce, plant

b. Italian sports car, car, vehicle, Maserati, sports car
c. Doctor of Medicine, person, brain surgeon,
professional person, surgeon
d. wallaby, marsupial, mammal, animal, kangaroo
e. parallelogram, polygon, square, rectangle,
quadrilateral
 Meaning and Terms
A term is not merely a word. Terms are in fact
metalinguistic, i.e., their reason for being is to be found in
their meaning rather than in the language in which they
are expressed.

Illustration:

Water, Agua, Tubig, Aqua are of different linguistic

expression, but they all mean the same or refer to the
same reality.
 Classification of Terms on the
BASIS OF MEANING
1. Univocal Terms are terms having the same meaning
(even if they are of different words).
2. Equivocal Terms are terms having different meanings
but usually and erroneously confused because of their
sameness or similarity in sound or spelling.
3. Analogous Terms are terms that have the same
meaning in one respect but different meaning in the
other respect in a given context;
• terms which are used partly in the same meaning and partly in
different meanings;
• terms that have only similar (not exactly the same nor entirely
different) meanings.
Examples:
Univocal Terms
Physician = Doctor of Medicine
Bachelor = Unmarried man
Triangle = Polygon with three sides
Equivocal Terms
 Pen as cell (prison cell) and Pen as writing instrument
 Ruler as head of a nation and Ruler as a measuring instrument
 Star as movie star and Star as a heavenly body
Analogous Terms
Eyes and “Window of the Soul”
Human Foot and “Foot of the Mountain”

Nb. Analogous terms are usually employed in figures of

speech such as simile, metaphor, parable and paradox.
 Classification of Terms on the
BASIS OF OPPOSITION BETWEEN IDEAS
1. Contradictory Terms are terms so opposed to each
other in meaning as to be mutually exclusive of each
other.
2. Contrary Terms (also called contraries, polarities,
extremes and opposites) are opposite in meaning but
admit middle possibilities or intermediaries.
3. Complement of a Class/Class Complement (also called
complementary class or non-class) is the collection of all
things that do not belong to the said class.
4. Paradoxical Terms seem to be contradictory to each
other but are actually reconcilable and combinable.
Examples:
Contradictory Terms
True and False Innocent and Guilty
Life and Death Proved and Unproved

Contrary Terms
Black and White All and None
Thesis and Antithesis

Complementary Terms
Flower and Non-flower White and Non-white
Substance and Non-substance

Paradoxical Terms
“Bittersweet” “Good of Evil”
“Evil of Good” “Agreeing to disagree”
 Classification of Terms on the
BASIS OF EXTENSION
1. Universal Term applies to all and each member
of the class of subjects denoted by the term.
Quantifying words:
a. All, Every, Each, No and None
b. The mentioned quantifying words added to a term
indicate that the term is universal.
Examples:
All animals Every nation Each item
No casualty None of the students
Universal term…

Note:
When a term is without any quantifier, it may
either be universal or particular, depending on
the context and the meaning in which it is
used.
Examples:
1) Beans are leguminous.
2) Filipinos are brown.
Terms on the Basis of Extension…
2. Particular Term applies to some or a portion of the
members of the class of subjects denoted by the term.
Quantifying words:
a. Some, Few, Many Most, Practically all, Not all, Majority of, A
portion of
b. The mentioned quantifying words added to a term indicate
that the term is particular.
Examples:
Some moments Few good things
Many men Most graduates
Practically all teachers Not all students
Majority of the senators A portion of the crowd
Terms on the Basis of Extension…
1. A Singular Term applies only to a single
individual
Quantifying words:
a. A, An , This, That
b. The above words, when attached to a term,
indicate that such a term in singular.
Examples:
A nun An indicator
This chair That armchair
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Definition is to Comprehension, while Distinction
is to Extension, of Terms

Why define?
To avoid ambiguity or vagueness of meaning
which oftentimes underlies, accompanies or
sugar-coats fallacious reasoning or sophistry.
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
The Best Definition:
Logical definition = per genus et differentiam
Proximate genus – the nearest class to which the term
defined belongs;
Specific difference – that which makes the thing defined
distinct from the rest of the members of the group

Example: Man is a rational animal.

A square is a quadrilateral of equal sides.
A square is a plane figure of equal sides
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Parts of definition:
 Definiendum – the term defined
 Definiens – the definition itself

Rules of Definition:
1. The definition (definiens) should be clearer than the term
defined.
2. The term defined must have the same extension with the
definition so that the two are interconvertible.
3. The definition should, as far as possible, be affirmative, not
negative; unless the very term defined is in itself negative or
conveys a negative meaning.
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Violation of the Rules of Definition:
1. Rule 1:
1. A philosopher is a person who philosophizes. (circular definition)
2. Love is a many splendored thing.
2. Rule 2:
1. Whales are marine animals.
3. Rule 3:
1. Daytime is the absence of darkness.
2. Democracy takes a form of government opposite that of
dictatorship.
3. Nighttime is the presence of darkness
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Other Definitions
1. Causal definition – tells the specific or exclusive use of a
thing.
1. A barometer is a mechanical device to measure atmospheric
pressure
2. Genetic definition – tells specifically how the thing to be
defined is made or produced.
1. Alcohol is a liquid substance produced by the fermentation of
starch or sugar by the action of yeast.
3. Operational definition – tells what the thing can do or
what is to be done to get or make the thing.
1. F=MA
2. E=mc2
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Other Definitions
4. Compound definition – derivation of the term +
explanation of what it signifies
5. Synthetic definition – consist in the combining or
building up of terms by gathering the elements that
enter into the composition of the same.
6. Multiple definition (assignment)
7. The case of Misnomer
 When the name is not the thing, or the thing is not its name;
 Misnominal or Antinominal definition is one in which the
definiens is seemingly, (though not really) the contradictory of
the definiendum.
 Definitions and Distinctions (Logical Division)
Logical Division
Division is the resolution of a whole into its component
parts.

Rules for Making a Division

1. The division should be as clear-cut and complete as
possible;
2. There should be a single basis to be used
throughout the whole division. This is called the
“golden rule of division.”
 Distinctions (Logical Division)
Mental Exercise: Applying the rules of division and distinction,
determine whether the following is erroneous or not. If erroneous,
explain your answer:

1. The difference between a parliamentary and presidential form of

government is that in the former, the highest executive is the
premier; in the latter the president is elected by the people.
2. The difference between my two friends is that one is intelligent
while the other is rich.
3. Samar has a bigger area while Cebu is much more thickly
populated.
4. The difference between a referendum and an election is that in the
first, there are not candidates to be elected, while in the second,
there are issues to be decided upon by the people.