lecture 12 Flashcards
What is a categorical statement?
A statement that says how certain categories of things are, or are not, included in other categories of things.
Provide an example of a categorical statement.
All cows are vegetarians.
What are the four parts of a categorical statement?
- Quantifier
- Subject term
- Copula
- Predicate term
Identify the quantifier, subject term, copula, and predicate term in the statement: ‘All cats are carnivores.’
- Quantifier: all
- Subject term: cats
- Copula: are
- Predicate term: carnivores
What are the four standard forms of categorical statements?
- A-statement: All S are P.
- E-statement: No S are P.
- I-statement: Some S are P.
- O-statement: Some S are not P.
___ cats are ____
What defines an affirmative categorical statement?
It affirms that one class is entirely or partly included in another.
All mice are rodents.
Some mice like cheese.
What defines a negative categorical statement?
It denies that one class is entirely or partly included in another.
No mouse can fly.
Some mice do not get caught.
Fill in the blank: Categorical statements can vary in _______.
[quality]
What is the translation for the statement ‘Only good listeners are wise advisers’?
All wise advisers are good listeners.
How do you represent categorical statements graphically?
Using Venn diagrams.
What do Venn diagrams consist of?
Overlapping circles, each representing a class specified by a term in a categorical statement.
What does an X in a Venn diagram indicate for an I-statement?
At least one member of S is also a member of P.
What does shading an area in a Venn diagram indicate?
That the area is empty, showing that no members of one class are in another.
Define a categorical syllogism.
A deductive argument made up of three statements: two premises and a conclusion.
What are the terms in a categorical syllogism?
- Subject term
- Predicate term
- Middle term
What is the structure of a categorical syllogism?
- All S are M.
- All M are P.
- Therefore, all S are P.
Provide an example of a categorical syllogism.
All politicians are elected officials. All elected officials are civil servants. Therefore, all politicians are civil servants.
What is the first step in checking the validity of a categorical syllogism with Venn diagrams?
Draw three overlapping circles, each representing a term in the syllogism.
True or False: The conclusion of a syllogism is always diagrammed.
False
What should you do after diagramming the premises of a syllogism?
Check to see if the diagram represents what is asserted in the conclusion.
What do you assume when translating non-standard quantifiers?
Assume the quantifier that would make the statement most likely to be true.
Fill in the blank: Singular statements assert something about a _______.
[single person or thing]
Singular statements
Singular statements assert something about a single person or thing, including objects, places, and times.
Think of each subject term as naming a class in which there’s just one member.
[Original] Jamie Foxx is an actor.
[Translation] All persons identical to Jamie Foxx are actors.
