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    Existential

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    Dharmendra Kumar
    Existential import refers to whether the truth of a statement depends on things in certain categories existing. Universal statements like "All unicorns have horns" lack existential import since they can be true even if unicorns don't exist. Particular statements imply existence, as "Some S are P" would be false if no S's exist. The modern square of opposition removes relationships between statements that don't hold when considering existential import. Subalternation, subcontrariety, and contrariety are removed, leaving only contradiction as the relationship that survives in the modern square.

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    Existential

    Uploaded by

    Dharmendra Kumar
    76 views2 pages
    Existential import refers to whether the truth of a statement depends on things in certain categories existing. Universal statements like "All unicorns have horns" lack existential import since they can be true even if unicorns don't exist. Particular statements imply existence, as "Some S are P" would be false if no S's exist. The modern square of opposition removes relationships between statements that don't hold when considering existential import. Subalternation, subcontrariety, and contrariety are removed, leaving only contradiction as the relationship that survives in the modern square.

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    Existential import refers to whether the truth of a statement depends on things in certain categories existing. Universal statements like "All unicorns have horns" lack existential import since they can be true even if unicorns don't exist. Particular statements imply existence, as "Some S are P" would be false if no S's exist. The modern square of opposition removes relationships between statements that don't hold when considering existential import. Subalternation, subcontrariety, and contrariety are removed, leaving only contradiction as the relationship that survives in the modern square.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    76 views2 pages

    Existential

    Uploaded by

    Dharmendra Kumar
    Existential import refers to whether the truth of a statement depends on things in certain categories existing. Universal statements like "All unicorns have horns" lack existential import since they can be true even if unicorns don't exist. Particular statements imply existence, as "Some S are P" would be false if no S's exist. The modern square of opposition removes relationships between statements that don't hold when considering existential import. Subalternation, subcontrariety, and contrariety are removed, leaving only contradiction as the relationship that survives in the modern square.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    Existential Import

    A statement has existential import when its truth depends on evidence for
    the existence of things in a certain category--in the case of categorical
    propositions, the existence of things in the categories signified by its subject
    and predicate terms.

    Existential Import and Categorical Propositions

    Consider the following propositions:

    All unicorns have horns.

    No perpetual motion machine has been patented.

    Both are true even though there are no unicorns or perpetual motion
    machines. Thus, these statements lack existential import.

    Many modern logicians hold that existential import is a function of a


    statement's logical form. According to this view, universal categorical
    statements in general do not have existential import.

    Statements that are particular in nature, however, do have existential import.


    To say that some S are P, or that some S are not P, is to imply the existence
    of Ss; if there are no Ss, then both statements are false.

    Existential Import and the


    Modern Square of Opposition
    The classical square of opposition presupposes that the terms of any
    categorical proposition have referents. If we adopt the modern doctrine about
    existential import, then some of the relationships in the traditional square no
    longer hold.

    Subalternation and the Modern Square of Opposition


    If the I proposition, "Some S are P" implies the existence of Ss, while the
    corresponding A proposition does not, then the truth of the A proposition does
    not imply the truth of the corresponding I. The same is true for E and O. In
    other words, subalternation must be removed from the square.

    Subcontrary and the Modern Square of Opposition


    Two statements are subcontraries if, by virtue of their logical form, they could
    both be true but could not both be false. However, if no Ss exist, then both
    particular statements are false. I and O no longer fit the definition of
    subcontraries. Thus, subcontrary must be removed from the square.

    Contrary and the Modern Square of Opposition


    Since neither of the universal statements have existential import, then they
    are both true in the case where there are no Ss. Thus, A and E are no longer
    contraries. Contrary must, then, be removed from the square.

    Contradiction and the Modern Square of Opposition


    The only relationship that survives in the modern square of opposition is that
    of contradictories. If there exists a single thing that is both S and P, then
    the I proposition is true and the E false. However, if nothing is both S and P,
    then the I proposition is false and the E is true--even if the absence of things
    that are both S and P is due to the fact that there aren't any Ss at all.

    The same reasoning applies to the A and O propositions. So E is true if and


    only if I is false, and A is true if and only if O is false.

    http://www.wwnorton.com/college/phil/logic3/ch8/inferenc.htm

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