- Aristotelian propositions
- Universal propositions
- Particular propositions
- The 4 main propositional forms
- Form A: Universal affirmative propositions
- Form E: Negative Universal Propositions
- Form I: Particular affirmative propositions
- Form O: Negative particular propositions
- Exercises
- Reply
- Reply
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- References
The particular and universal propositions are the main classification of the propositional categories. They were proposed by Aristotle and are part of the study of logic.
Aristotelian logic defines a proposition as a sentence that affirms or denies something. That is to say, it is of an argumentative and absolute tone. Categorical propositions are those in which it is affirmed or denied that a part (or a whole) is something. Depending on their features, they are universal or particular.
Particular and universal propositions
An example of a particular proposition would be "Some countries have a coast", while a universal proposition would be "Living things are mortal."
Aristotelian propositions
It was Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) who proposed the categorical propositions as a whole. They were established as an initial part of the structure of the logic of the spoken language.
The theory of propositions explains that its objective is to indicate whether or not a subject is part of a predicate.
Universal propositions
The universals are those that refer to the entire group of the subject. We do not speak of a specific element, but of all.
For example, the sentence "all dogs bark" is a universal proposition. It gives the same trait (bark) to all members of that group (dogs).
"Humans are mammals" is also another example of a universal proposition. The subject is "humans" and the predicate is "they are mammals."
Particular propositions
The particular propositions, unlike the previous ones, refer to a specific piece of a group.
The proposition "some birds fly" is particular, since it refers to some elements of the entire group.
The same is true of the sentence "some people are blonde." In this case, "some people" represents the subject and "they are blonde" is the predicate.
The 4 main propositional forms
Whether universal or particular, all propositions can be affirmative or negative.
Affirmative. The affirmative ones are those that confirm the affirmation that is made. That is, they positively support the predicate of the sentence. An example of a universal affirmative proposition is "all cats meow." In this it is affirmed positively that the entire group of the subject performs the action of the predicate.
One particular affirmative proposition is "some cats are white." This does not include the entire group within the predicate, but only some elements of it.
Negatives. Meanwhile, negative propositions deny the veracity of the claim. The sentence "no bird has plumage" is a negative universal proposition. This affirms the negation of the predicate in the whole group to which it refers.
Whereas a sentence with the structure of "some birds do not fly" is a particular negative proposition. This denies the membership of a part of the group to the predicate.
Based on this, Aristotle determined that there are 4 possible forms of categorical propositions. Thus he generated a classification to study them in detail.
Form A: Universal affirmative propositions
Every subject is predicated. For example: all planets are round.
Form E: Negative Universal Propositions
No subject is predicated. For example: no planet is flat.
Form I: Particular affirmative propositions
Some subject is predicate. For example: some doors are made of wood.
Form O: Negative particular propositions
Some subject is not predicate. For example: some doors are not metal.
Exercises
Find out which of the four possible forms of categorical propositions the following arguments belong to.
- "All Europeans are human"
Reply
It is a universal affirmative proposition, since the subject as everything is predicated.
- "No mammal is immortal"
Reply
It is a negative universal proposition, since the subject as everything is not predicated.
- "Some cars are electric"
Reply
It is a particular affirmative proposition, since the subject is predicated.
- "Some cars are not five-door"
Reply
It is a particular negative proposition, since the subject is not predicated.
References
- Categorical propositions. (2011) philosophypages.com
- Classification of the propositions. (2013) expresionoralyescrita1.files.wordpress.com
- Preliminaries on the proposals. matematexx.files.wordpress.com
- Philosophy 103: Introduction to logic Venn diagrams of standard form categorical propositions. (2004) philosophy.lander.edu
- Categorical propositions. (2017) britannica.com
- Categorical propositions. (2017) newworldencyclopedia.org