Colegio de San Juan de Letran

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking Schematic Presentation Mental Operation / Act Simple Apprehension Judgment Reasoning Mental Operation Mental Product Idea / Concept Enunciation Argument

Lecture Two

External Sign Term Proposition Syllogism

Logical Issue Predicability Predication Inference

A.) Simple Apprehension It is called as the first act of the mind. It implies an act of conceiving the object. Its nature necessitates the use of the five senses. In essence, it is defined as a mental act of conceiving something without affirming or denying anything about it. The act of conceiving means the awareness of something The formulation of an idea / concept A.1 Concept The mental image, which is created by the mind or the process of conceiving the object. It is attained through the process of abstraction.

Abstrahere means to segregate or to move away It is a mental process whereby the mind separates the essential features of an object from the non-essential ones. Essential features it means without which a certain object will cease to exist. Non-essential features are those features that are not substantial in the strictest sense but they are added to the very essence of the object. Paradigm:

Body

Five Senses

Mind receives raw data

Process: Interpret and Evaluate

CONCEPT

Producing sensible image

Abstraction

Phantasm is produced in the absence of the object; it is infinite, repetitious, continuous movement of the senses.

Example: What makes a tree, a tree? (Or what is the essence of a tree?)

Meaning, what makes all the trees, (such as Narra, Acacia, Pine, Mango, and others) have in common? Thus, to know the essence of a tree, the mind must learn how to abstract To separate the ESSENTIAL from NON-ESSENTIAL features the mind is capable of distinguishing these two and is able to conceive the tree-ness of a tree. Once conceived What-ness or Quiddity of an object (tree)

Represented in the mind (Concept of a tree)

Note: In the absence of a thing, the mind creates a mental representation of the same thing that we have experienced (seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted). This is manifested after the mind makes an abstraction. A.2 Term The outward representation of an idea An essential part of a proposition

Question-1: Why? Because it can either serve as a subject or a predicate. Question-2: When is a term considered as a term? A term is called as such when it has meaning or character of its own. Note: Not all words are terms, but all terms are words.

Does not contain meaning or signification They cannot be considered as subjects or predicates Example: Interjections (form of speeches; ejaculatory words) Articles (a, an the) Linking verbs (is, was, were, etc.) Prepositions (of, in, at, etc.)

In essence, a term applies both to words and to phrases that express a whole idea and form one of the units of expression in a language applying especially to units with a more or less precise technical use or meaning. Three Kinds of Terms: 1.) Univocal a term one meaning only or subject to single interpretation Example: Man Because its meaning namely: rational animal remains exactly the same when applied to: white man, black man, or this man. 2.) Equivocal a term having two or more meaning or signification. A term that is totally different when applied in different senses. Example: Trunk would mean a tree, a car, or an elephant Note: This term is related to the Fallacy of Four Terms. Some synonymous words

3.) Analogous a term having a similar function but different in structure and origin. It means partially the same yet partially different. Example: Land (ground) and Land (to set down) Classification of Terms according to Application: 1.) Universal a term which stands not only for a class as a whole, but also to every member of that class. Example: All students Every politician Each father 2.) Particular a term, which stands for indefinite number of individuals. Example: Many fathers Certain president Some people A few days ago 3.) Singular a term that has only one specified object, individual or group. Example: All Common Nouns, All Collective Nouns, All Superlatives, All Periodical Pronouns, All Demonstrative Pronouns Two Types of Methods of Reasoning: 1.) Deductive Reasoning a logical process in which a conclusion drawn from a set of premises contains no more information than the premises taken collectively. Example: All philosophers are great thinkers. Aristotle is a philosopher. Ergo, Aristotle is a great thinker. Note: From general (universal) propositions to specific (particular) conclusions. The truth of the conclusion is dependent only on the method. 2.) Inductive Reasoning a logical process in which a conclusion is proposed that contains more information than the observations or experience on which it is based. Example: Every crow ever seen was black. Ergo, all crows are black. Note: From general (universal) propositions to specific (particular) conclusions. The truth of the conclusion is verifiable only in terms of future experience and certainty is attainable only if all possible instances have been combined. B.) Judgments The second act of the mind A mental operation whereby an act of pronouncement regarding agreement or disagreement between two concepts is made. B.1) Proposition The external sign of judgment A statement, which affirms or denies something about a certain reality or object. It is often formulated in Declarative form. Exclamatory, Interrogative, Command, sentences are not considered propositions.

Standard Component of a Proposition Subject Copula (Linking Verb) Predicate CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS It is a proposition by which the affirmation or denial between two concepts is expressed in an absolute, immediate, direct, or unconditional manner. Quantity UNIVERSAL PARTICULAR Affirmative Propositions S is P. S is non-P. Non-S is P. Non-S is non-P. Standard-form Categorical Propositions ALL S is P. NO S is P. SOME S is P. SOME S is NOT P. Standard-form Categorical Propositions A All S is P. E No S is P. I Some S is P. O Some S is not P. Quality AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE Negative Propositions S is not P. Non-S is not-P. S is not non-P. Non-S is not non-P. Meaning is Class Notation Every member of the S-class is a member of the P-class, that is, the S-class is included in the Pclass. No member of the S-class is a member of the Pclass, that is, the S-class is excluded in the Pclass. At least one member of the S-class is a member of the P-class. At least one member of the S-class is not a member of the P-class.

Note: Distribution is an attribute of the terms (subject and predicate) of a proposition; a term is distributed if and only if the proposition makes an assertion about every member of the class denoted by the terms; otherwise it is undistributed.