Inference

ASISCLO III M. ABONADO

FACULTY
SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT
Prayer
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that
my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy
Spirit, that I love but what is
holy.
Strengthen me O Holy
Spirit, to defend all that is
holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy
Spirit, that I always may be
holy.
 NOTION OF JUDGMENT
The mind does not stop in the formation of ideas and terms.
It starts asserting relationship between these concepts, either
affirming or denying it.
Examples:
“Juan is a Filipino”. Judgment
“Juan is not a Filipino”.
 What is Judgment in Logic?
u A mental act of affirming or denying the relationship between two
concepts. A mental operation or act by which the mind affirms or
denies anything whatsoever.
u Some people are generous
Man is a creature.
A dog is not rational.
A tree is not a cow.
Affirmation

Denial
 Examples of Judgment
Every man is a rational animal.
No dog is human.
A tree is not a cow.
Baguio City is the summer capital of the Philippines.
Joseph “Erap” Estrada is the president of the Philippines.
Some people are generous.
Judgment and Proposition

§ Theoretically, judgment is a mental act not yet

verbally expressed.
§ It exists only in the mind. But ideas need terms as a
means of expression, so judgments need a tool for
communication.
§ This tool is called PROPOSITION. Therefore, every
proposition is a judgment.
 Prerequisites of Judgment
For a judgment to be valid and true certain prerequisites must
be followed. They are the following:
1. The two related concepts must be thoroughly understood.
2. There must be an intellectual comparison between the two
concepts/ terms.
The mind must comprehend their identity or non-identity as basis
for pronouncing a judgment.
u 3. There must be an objective perception of the
relationship of the two concepts whether or not
such relationship is of agreement or disagreement.
u 4. There must be a mental pronouncement of the
agreement or disagreement of the terms
compared.
 Notion of Proposition

§ A judgment is mental act not yet verbally expressed.

§ But man has the faculty of speech and can put this in writing.
§ So that if ideas need terms for expression, so judgment need a
tool for communication.
This tool is called proposition.
A proposition is defined as a declarative sentence
which expresses a relation of affirmation or denial
between two terms.
It is a verbal expression of judgment.
 Types of Proposition

There are two types of proposition: the Categorical and the

Hypothetical. We shall discuss first the categorical. The
Hypothetical will be discussed later.

1. CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS. A categorical is one in which

the predicate term is either affirmed or denied of the subject
term. If the predicate term is affirmed by the subject term the,
the two terms are united and the proposition is called
affirmative. If the two terms are denied of each other as
indicated by the negative adverbs no or not, the proposition is
called negative.
The subject and the predicate are united or separated by a
copula, the present tense of the verb “to be”, am, is or are.
All pine trees are plants.
Some plants are not flowers.
All people are beautiful
I am a finite being.
The farmer is God’s servant.
No man is immortal.
Components of Categorical
Proposition
1. Subject Term
2. Predicate Term
3. Copula
 Truth or Falsity

§ The mind’s act of affirming or negating a relationship of terms

in a proposition is in fact a declaration of truth or falsity.
§ But how do we know a judgment is true or false?
§ It is the conformity between the mental judgment and objective
reality.
§ Or the congruence between what is in the mind and the
objective world.
A tree is a plant.
The sun revolves around the earth.
Flowers are petals.
A triangle has four sides.
Igorots are Filipinos.
A dog is an irrational animal.
Reduction To Logical Form

§ A proposition may run like this: “The dog barks.

This has to be reduced to logical form – forming a
categorical proposition by changing the verb into a
linking verb in order to have a copula.
§ Modify slightly or add a word without changing
the thought of the original proposition.
ALL DOGS BARK. In logical form may
be as follows:
All dogs are barking animals.
All dogs are barkers.
All dogs are animals that bark.

FILIPINOS WORK HARD. In logical form may be as

follows:
 Properties of Categorical
Proposition
Quantity of Proposition
1. Universal Proposition
2. Particular Proposition
3. Singular Proposition

Quality of Proposition
1. Affirmative Proposition
2. Negative Proposition
Quantity and Quality
Combined
§ Reduction of Propositions to Four Basic Types
UNIVERSAL / SINGULAR
AFFIRMATIVE A
UNIVERSAL / SINGULAR NEGATIVE
E
PARTICULAR / AFFIRMNATIVE
I
PARTICULAR / NEGATIVE
O
 INFERENCE:

THE REASONING PROCESS

NATURE OF REASONING
§ LOGIC IS THE SCIENCE OF CORRECT THINKING.
§ IT STARTS WITH IDEAS AND TERMS AND LEADS TO THE
FORMATION OF JUDGMENT AND PROPOSITION.
§ USING JUDGMENT AND PROPOSITION IT PROCEEDS
TO THE INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY CALLED REASONING
PROCESS OR INFERENCE.
Notion of Inference

§ the process in which from a sequence of

propositions, we arrive at a conclusion.
§ The mind proceeds from one proposition to
other propositions.
§ Mental process of comparing 2 concepts with
a common third term in order to establish
agreement or disagreement with each other.
§ Inference consists of 2 parts: the antecedent
and the consequent.
 ANTECEDENT- CONSEQUENT RELATIONSHIP

Antecedent (premises)

S
E
Q
U
inference E
N
C
E
Consequent (conclusion)
 Example:
Crimes are evil acts. Antecedent

But murder is a crime. Crime appears 2x.

Common 3rd term.
Sequential relation
Therefore, murder is an evil act. Consequent
 There are three terms:

§ Crimes - appears twice in the premises. This term

establishes a sequential relation between the 2
premises.

§ Evil acts

§ Murder
 Kinds of Inference

Immediate and Mediate Inference

Immediate Inference
A short-cut way of reasoning process passing
directly from one proposition, without the aid of
a second proposition or a third term, to a new
proposition but not a new truth.
Example: Crimes are evil acts.
Therefore, crimes are evil acts.
 Kinds of Inference

Mediate Inference
§ A process of reasoning whereby the mind passes from two
propositions which are called premises to a new proposition
called conclusion thru the mediation of a common third term
called the middle term. The mind arrives at a new truth.
This reasoning process or inference is called a syllogism.
§ The structure of a syllogism consists of 3 declarative sentences: 2
premises and one conclusion.
Example:
Crimes are evil acts.
But murder is a crime.
Therefore, murder is an evil act.
TYPES OF REASONING

DEDUCTIVE REASONING
and
INDUCTIVE REASONING
DEDUCTIVE REASONING

The mind proceeds from a

universal truth to a particular one.
Examples:
1. Every man is rational
But the teacher is a man.
Therefore, the teacher is rational.

2. A dog is an animal.
But a person is not an animal.
Therefore, a person is not a dog.
INDUCTIVE REASONING

The mind proceeds to conclude from individual or

particular cases to the existence of a universal law
or principle.

Example:
Filipinos have 2 eyes each.
Americans have 2 eyes each.
Chinese have 2 eyes.
But Filipinos, Americans and Chinese are people.
Therefore, people have 2 eyes each.
THE CATEGORICAL SYLLOGISM

§ a verbal expression of an inference. An oral

or written discourse showing agreement or
disagreement between 2 terms on the basis of
a common third term.

§ an argumentation from 2 propositions called

premises, we arrive at a third proposition
called conclusion.

§ must always have a sequential relation in the

presence of a middle term.
 COMPONENTS OF A CTEGROICAL SYLLOGISM

Syllogism

Major Premise Minor Premise Conclusion

Major term (T), Minor term (t), Middle term (M)