The PROPOSITION

Werkmeister (1971: 183) says that in actual thinking, terms and words are combined in many ways
to make meaningful statements. If the combination is said to be true or false, the statement is
called a ​proposition​.

On the other hand, Piñon (1973: 92) describes a proposition as an external enunciation in which
one concept expressed as predicate is affirmed or denied of another concept expressed as subject.

For Jayme (1994: 17), a proposition expressed verbally or in writing what is attained in the mental
act is called j​ udgment​.

Fetizanan and Gajete (2003: 30) define proposition as a sentence pronouncing the agreement or
disagreement between two ideas that are obtained from judgment.

Gualdo (2000: 27) defines proposition as a declarative sentence, which expresses a relation of
affirmation or denial between two terms.

Bittle (1948: 94) gave the simplest definition of proposition. He said that proposition is a judgment
expressed in a sentence.

From the foregoing, one may conclude that a proposition should contain a judgment. To recall,
judgment exists only in the mind, and as such it is not yet verbally expressed. So, to manifest its
affirmation or denial judgment needs a tool. This tool is called the p​ roposition​.

PROPOSITION and Sentence

Since there are sentences that do not express truth or falsity, then not all sentences are
propositions. Werkmeister (1971: 183) defines a s​ entence​ as any combination of words conforming
to the syntactical rules of the language employed. So, a sentence is a word or combination of words
that has a meaning or idea. If the combination does not follow the rules of syntax, it is not a
sentence, such as “love the he to sun real is”. The combination of meaningless syllables is not a
sentence either.

A proposition is distinct from a sentence because it carries with it a judgment while a sentence
does not. Statements such as “What is your name?” (interrogative), “Oh, what a beautiful day!”
(exclamatory), “Go home.” (imperative), “Please, listen to me.” (appeal), and “Merry Christmas!” or
“May you have more birthdays to come.” (wishing), are examples of sentence. They do not express
truth or falsity. They are neither true nor false. To the statement “What is your name?” or “What a
beautiful day!” is meaningless to ask if it is true or false.

Thus, a proposition is a statement that expresses a judgment, while a ​sentence is a statement that
expresses a thought or idea but without judgment​.

ELEMENTS OF A PROPOSITION

Every proposition has three elements: the subject, the predicate, and the copula or the verb “to be”.
The subject or the predicate may be composed of one term or a combination of two or more terms
and words. It is the copula that indicates whether the proposition is affirmative or negative. In
addition, the proposition has a quantifier that determines its extension or quantity (Fetizanan and
Gajete, 2003: 31).

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOGICAL PROPOSITION

Piñon (1973: 92) distinguishes the logical proposition from ordinary grammatical sentence by
stressing that the logical proposition is expressed in the indicative mood, and in the present tense,
and that the subject and the predicate of a logical proposition are linked by a copula or verb “to
be”.

Hence, a logical proposition follows the ​subject-copula-predicate​ (S-C-P) pattern. If a proposition

is not in its logical form, it is highly recommended that it should be rendered in the S-C-P pattern.

Examples:

1. From this: Birds fly.

To this: All birds are flying beings.

2. From this: He likes to read books.

To this: He is someone who likes to read books.

3. From this: Mr. H helped the typhoon victims.

To this: Mr. H is the one who helped the typhoon victims.

4. From this: Jorho runs.

To this: Jorho is an individual who is running.

5. From this: It is better to light just one little candle than to be groping in the dark.

To this: To light one little candle is better than to be groping in the dark.

​KINDS OF PROPOSITIONS

1.​ Categorical Proposition​. This, Piñon (1973 :93) says, expresses the judgment in absolute
manner. To Bittle (1948: 113), this is one in which a predicate is attributed to its subject
outright, without restriction or condition. There are two types of categorical propositions:
single and multiple.

A. Single categorical proposition consists of one subject and one predicate. Examples:

1. Jorho Lawrenz is handsome.

2. All drunk drivers are threats to others on the road.
3. Several government officials are persons without social conscience.

B. Multiple categorical propositions consist of two or more propositions united into one.
The following are the different kinds of multiple categorical propositions with
examples:

1. Copulative – having several subjects and/or predicates joined by the

conjunction “and”.

Example: Logic ​and​ mathematics are hard and difficult subjects.

2. Adversative – uses the conjunctions “although,” “yet,” “but,” “however,”

or “nevertheless”.

Example: The Lord is just ​but​ merciful.

3. Causal – uses the conjunctions “because,” “for,” “since,” or “whereas”.

Example: ​Since​ you cheated in the exams, you should take another test.

4. Explicative – with qualifying clause.

Example: Humans, ​who are mortal​, live as if they will not die.

5. Relative – made up of partial ones joined together by particles like

“as,…so,” “when…then”.
Examples: ​As​ you dress, ​so ​is your personality. ​When​ we are in trouble,
then​ we know who our real friends are.

6. Exclusive – uses limited particle like “alone,” “only”.

Example: Juan is lazy ​only​.

7. Exceptive – qualified by exclusion.

Example: All of you passed the exam, ​except​ one.

8. Comparative – qualified the distinction or difference by comparison

Example: Jorho is taller ​than​ TJ.

9. Reduplicative – repeats word or words to give emphasis.

Example: Parents, as parents, love their children.

10. Necessary – qualifies by taking into what distinguishes.

Example: Triangles ​must​ be three-sided.

11. Impossible – qualified by what something not or supposed to be.

Example: Dogs ​cannot​ be rational.

2. ​Hypothetical Proposition​. Piñon (1973: 93) says, this kind of proposition expresses a
judgment which is dependent on another judgment, not an absolute one. Bittle (1948:113)
explains that hypothetical proposition does not attribute a predicate to its subject directly,
but asserts the dependence of one judgment on another. There are three types of
hypothetical proposition: c​ onditional, disjunctive, a​ nd​ conjunctive​.

Examples:

A. Conditional. ​If​ freedom is to preserve its real meaning, ​then​ it must be an equal
freedom for all.
B. Disjunctive: ​Either​ science discovers a remedy for every disease, ​or​ human life will
never be without tragedy.
C. Conjunctive: You cannot serve God ​and​ Satan ​at the same time​.