Categorical Syllogism Flashcards
Around 350 BCE, Aristotle developed syllogisms in their
original form in his work entitled
Analytica Priora.
represent the earliest branch of formal logic.
Syllogisms
is the formal analysis of logical terms and operators and the structures that make it
possible to infer true conclusions from given premises.
A syllogism
is an argument that has three categorical propositions.
A categorical syllogism
is a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
Syllogism
It has three categorical terms: major, minor, and middle terms.
categorical syllogism
The predicate of the conclusion; subject or predicate of one of the two premises
MAJOR TERM
Subject of the conclusion; subject or predicate of one of the two premises
MINOR TERM
Often found in the two premises (can be subject or predicate), which serves to link them with each other
MIDDLE TERM
The major premise contains the major term while the minor premise contains the minor term.
tf
true
is the arrangement of terms in the argument or syllogism.
Figure
It can be easily identified with the location of the middle term.
figure
There are four figures because there are two premises and two possible positions in each premise.
true
depends upon the type of categorical propositions that consist a categorical syllogism (A, E, I or O)
mood
It is a list of the types beginning with the major premise and ending with the conclusion.
mood
Every categorical proposition contains a subject and a predicate term that belong into different quantities: this can be referring to all members of a class, a portion, or none at all.
distribution
is an attribute that describes the relationship between a categorical proposition and its terms, whether or not the proposition makes a statement about every member of the class represented by a given term.
Distribution
A syllogism can be validated by looking on the mood and figure of the syllogism itself.
validity
Syllogistic rules are formulated so that errors in making syllogism would be noted in case that there are violations.
validity
Each of the rules may be concerned in terms of distribution, copula (on negation), and quantity.
validity
If there are four terms in a categorical syllogism, it commits the
Fallacy of Four Terms, or Fallacy of Ambiguous Middle
If the middle terms are left undistributed, it commits the
Fallacy of Undistributed Middle
If the term is undistributed in the premise yet distributed in the conclusion, the latter says more about the term than the premises did.
fallacy of illicit processs
Two negative premises deny class inclusion, thus cannot yield linkage towards the conclusion.
This commits the Fallacy of Exclusive Premises.
A syllogism containing a negative premise should always have a negative conclusion and not an affirmative one.
true
In the Boolean interpretation of categorical propositions, universal propositions (A & E) have no existential import.
RULE 6: FROM TWO UNIVERSAL PREMISES, NO PARTICULAR CONCLUSION MAY BE DRAWN
If the premises of an argument do not assert the existence of anything at all, the conclusion will be unwarranted when the existence of some thing may be inferred.
(Existential Fallacy)
