BLOG102 – BUSINESS LOGIC

MIDTERM

LESSON 2: COMPONENTS OF CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION

Lesson Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• Identify the basic components and the standard form of categorical proposition
• Identify whether a given proposition is affirmative or negative; singular, particular, or
universal
• Identify the quantity of a given categorical proposition as well as the quantity of
subject-term and predicate-term
• Classify a given proposition whether A, E, I, or O

Basic Components
The categorical proposition, as an unconditional statement of assertion or denial,
consists of three basic components or parts which are the subject-term, the predicate-
term, and the copula. The subject-term is something which is asserted or denied. This is
usually accompanied by a quantifier such as "all," "some," "few," "many," "no," "none,"
"several," etc. The predicate-term is that which is asserted or denied of the subject-
term. The copula which is a form of a verb "to be" and used in its present indicative
mood - is , are, am, is not, are not, am not - is considered the "soul" of the proposition
because it expresses verbally the affirmation or negation, which is the essence of the
proposition. Its function is either to join the subject- and the predicate-terms as in "Birds
are animals," or separate the subject- and the predicate-terms as in " That lawyer is not
a member of the academic council."

In the proposition, "All patients are given medical treatment," the subject-term is
"patients," the quantifier is "all," the copula is the verb "are," and the predicate-term is
"given medical treatment." It should be borne in mind that in logic, the "subject-term"
and "predicate-term" do not mean the same as "subject" and "predicate" in grammar.
In grammar, the subject of the statement, "All patients are given medical treatment,"
includes the quantifier "all," but in logic the subject-term is "patients;" only. Similarly, the
predicate includes the copula "are," but the predicate-term does not.

Components In Logic In Grammar

Quantifier all ______
Subject-term/Subject patients all patients
Copula are ______
Predicate-term/Predicate given treatment are given treatment

Standard Form
The standard form (or structure) of the categorical proposition refers to the pattern of
arrangement of the essential or basic components of the proposition into a logical unit
which is schematically presented as follows:
 Subject-term ---------------------Copula--------------------Predicate-term

Some categorical propositions are not in standard form because they do not have all
the three basic components, or the ordering of the basic components does not follow
that in the standard form. For logical purposes, this will call for their transformation to
their standard form, that is, recasting them so as to have all the three basic
components present ordered accordingly. To illustrate:

Original Forms Standard Form

1. a. Maria writes books. Maria is a person who writes books.
b. The person who writes books is
Maria.
2. a. Mothers love their children. Mothers are those who love their
children.
b. Those who love their children are
mothers.
3. a. Cats have whiskers. Cats are animals that have whiskers.
b. Animals that have whiskers are cats.

In transforming propositions in their standard forms, care must be taken that the
message or content of the original propositions as well as their tense must be retained in
their transformed form. To transform the original proposition "Maria writes books" into
"Maria is writing books" is not right because the latter is in present progressive tense while
the former is in present tense.

Quality
Quality is one inherent characteristic of the categorical proposition. Affirmative and
negative are two qualities that a proposition can have. The quality of the categorical
proposition is affirmative if its predicate-term is asserted or affirmed of its subject-term.
The following examples illustrate this:

Affirmative Propositions
1. My wife is meticulous.
2. The children are home.
3. I am a Filipino.
4. Men are rational beings.
5. My daughter is graceful.

The categorical proposition is negative when its predicate-term is denied of its subject-
term. The denial is effected by the use of the negative particle "not" which
accompanies the copula, as in "is not," "are not," "am not." In some cases, however,
instead of "not," "no" is used but which precedes the subject-term rather than the
copula, as in the case of example 4.
 Negative Propositions
1. My wife is not meticulous.
2. The children are not at home.
3. I am not a Filipino.
4. No men are irrational beings.
5. My daughter is not graceful.

From the examples, it will be noted that the quality of the categorical proposition is the
function of the copula. In other words, the quality of the categorical proposition can
be determined by examining the copula, that is whether the verb "to be" in the present
tense is preceded by the negative particle "not," or "no" precedes the proposition
rendering the proposition negative in quality; otherwise, it is affirmative.

Quantity
Quantity is another essential characteristic of the categorical proposition. It refers to
the extension of the proposition which is determined by the quantity of the subject-
term. Thus, the quantity of the proposition is singular when the extension of its subject-
term is singular, that is, it signifies a single, definitely-designated individual or group. It is
particular when its subject-term denotes an indefinite part of its absolute extension, but
it is universal when the subject-term designates all members of what it signifies.
Quantifiers or modifiers of subject-terms are helpful in determining the quantity of the
propositions. Examples of quantifiers are "all," "every," "anyone," "whoever," "whichever"
for universal quantity; and "some," "few," "many," "several," for particular quantity.

The quantity of the proposition should not be confused with the quantity of the
predicate-term. Unlike the quantity of the proposition, the quantity of the predicate-
term is based on the quality of the proposition, unless it is singular. If the quantity of the
predicate-term is singular, that is, it refers to a single, definitely-designated individual or
group, then it is singular, regardless of the quality of the proposition. However, if the
predicate-term is not singular, then the quality of the proposition should be used as the
determinant of its quantity, following these rules:
1. If the proposition is affirmative, then the predicate-term must be particular.
2. If the proposition is negative, then the predicate-term must be universal.

Validity
The categorical proposition is valid either on the basis of form (or structure) or matter
(thought content). On the basis of form/structure, it is valid when it adheres to the
standard form, as follows:

Subject-term ------------- Copula ------------- Predicate-term

(ST) (C) (PT)

"Birds are animals that can fly," is a formally valid categorical proposition, so is the
proposition "Stones are soft objects," because both propositions contain the basic parts
which are the subject-term, copula, and predicate-term arranged according to the
standard structure/form: ST - C - PT.

The categorical proposition is valid on the basis of matter or thought content when the
idea therein conforms to what is true in reality. "Birds are animals that can fly," is
materially valid because the idea asserted in the proposition is in accordance with
what is true in reality. But the proposition "Stones are soft objects," though formally valid
is materially invalid because in fact, stones are hard objects.

For the proposition to be genuinely valid, it should be valid both in form/structure and
matter/thought content. In actual reasoning, both form and thought content are
involved. One cannot carry a conversation on the basis of form or thought content
alone; to do so may result to misunderstanding or confusion.

Kinds
Taking into account both the quality and the quantity of the proposition at the same
time results to four kinds of categorical propositions. These are the (1) universal/singular
affirmative, (2) universal/singular negative, (3) particular affirmative, and (4) particular
negative. Since the early Middle Ages, these four kinds of categorical proposition have
commonly been designated by letter symbols corresponding to the first four vowels of
the Roman alphabet: A, E, I, O. Symbol A stands for the universal/singular affirmative
proposition, E for the universal/singular negative proposition, I for the particular
affirmative proposition, and O for the particular negative proposition. The four letters
were said to have been derived from the first two vowels in the Latin words affirmo ("I
affirm) and nego ("I deny").

Using the letter symbols, four types of the categorical proposition can be diagrammed
as follows:

QUALITY
Affirmative Negative
QUANTITY

Universal/Singular A E

Particular I O

In tabular form, the propositions can be presented according to their quality and
quantity as follows:

Proposition Quality Quantity

A Affirmative Universal, Singular
E Negative Universal, Singular
I Affirmative Particular
O Negative Particular
Application:
Applying the concepts discussed above, the extension or quantity of the proposition
and that of the predicate-term are identified in the following propositions.

Quantity
Proposition
Proposition Predicate-term
1. Socrates is the most famous philosopher. Singular Singular
2. Some houses are made of light materials. Particular Particular
3. Men are not immortal beings. Universal Universal
4. Everyone is welcome to the party. Universal Particular
5. Some animals are not carnivorous. Particular Universal
6. Our basketball team is the champion. Singular Singular
7. Those children are from our school. Singular Particular
8. No soldier is a coward. Universal Universal
9. Not everyone in this room is a crime suspect. Particular Particular
10. The lone honoree is a political leader. Singular Particular

The following propositions are given the appropriate symbol, quantity, and quality of
proposition.

Proposition Symbol Quantity Quality

1. Men are rational animals. A Universal Affirmative
2. Dr. Jose P. Rizal is a Filipino. A Singular Affirmative
3. Every Filipino is hospitable. A Universal Affirmative
4. That dog is not mine. E Singular Negative
5. No one is allowed to leave. E Universal Negative
6. Men are not immortal beings E Universal Negative
7. Most men believe in God. I Particular Affirmative
8. Not everyone is welcome to the party. I Particular Affirmative
9. Some roses are white. I Particular Affirmative
10. Several students are not in uniform. O Particular Negative
11. Few plants are not edible. O Particular Negative
12. Many animals are not carnivorous. O Particular Negative