INTENSION AND

EXTENSION OF TERMS
The problem in arguments
• The main task of logic is the evaluation of
arguments.
• However, as we saw in the previous lesson,
there are countless arguments in which this
task leads to the observation, “Well, that
depends on what you mean by . . .”
• Such an observation usually indicates that
the meaning of certain words in the
argument is vague or ambiguous.
The problem in arguments
• Clearing up the problem often involves
supplying a definition.
• Thus, the study of meaning and definition is
closely related to the main task of logic.
Learning the basics
• The basic units of any ordinary language are
words.
• Our main concern in this lesson, however, is
not with words in general but with terms.
• A term is any word or arrangement of words
that may serve as the subject of a statement.
Terms consist of proper names, common
names, and descriptive phrases.
Learning the basics
• Words that are not terms include verbs, non-
substantive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositions, conjunctions, and all non-
syntactic arrangements of words.
Cognitive meaning of Terms
• The intensional meaning, or intension,
consists of the qualities or attributes that the
term connotes, and
• the extensional meaning, or extension,
consists of the members of the class that the
term denotes.
Cognitive meaning of Terms
• For example, the intensional meaning of the
term “cat” consists of the attributes of being
furry, of having four legs, of moving in a
certain way, of emitting certain sounds, and
so on
• The extensional meaning consists of cats
themselves—all the cats in the universe. The
term connotes the attributes and denotes
the cats.
Cognitive meaning of Terms
• Th e intensional meaning of a term is
otherwise known as the connotation, and
the extensional meaning is known as the
denotation.
• Intension and extension are roughly
equivalent to the more modern terms sense
and reference, respectively.
Cognitive meaning of Terms
• Also, note that logic uses the terms
connotation and denotation differently from
the way they are used in grammar.
• In grammar, connotation refers to the subtle
nuances of a word, whereas denotation
refers to the word’s direct and specific
meaning.
Comparing Intension and
Extension
• Th e distinction between intension and
extension may be further illustrated by
comparing the way in which these concepts
can be used to give order to random
sequences of terms.
• Terms may be put in the order of increasing
intension, increasing extension, decreasing
intension, and decreasing extension.
Comparing Intension and
Extension
• A series of terms is in the order of increasing
intension when each term in the series
(except the first) connotes more attributes
than the one preceding it.
• In other words, each term in the series after
the first is more specific than the one
preceding it. (A term is specific to the degree
that it connotes more attributes.) The order
of decreasing intension is the reverse of that
of increasing intension.
Exercises
• parallelogram, polygon, square, rectangle,
quadrilateral (increasing intension)
• Italian sports car, car, vehicle, Maserati,
sports car (increasing extension)
• wallaby, marsupial, mammal, animal,
kangaroo (decreasing intension)
• doctor of medicine, person, brain surgeon,
professional person, surgeon (decreasing
extension)