In logic, a categorical proposition, or categorical statement, is a proposition that asserts or denies that all or some of the members of one category (the subject term) are included in another (the predicate term). The study of arguments using categorical statements (i.e., syllogisms) forms an important branch of deductive reasoning that began with the Ancient Greeks.

The Ancient Greeks such as Aristotle identified four primary distinct types of categorical proposition and gave them standard forms (now often called A, E, I, and O). If, abstractly, the subject category is named S and the predicate category is named P, the four standard forms are:

A surprisingly large number of sentences may be translated into one of these canonical forms while retaining all or most of the original meaning of the sentence. Greek investigations resulted in the so-called square of opposition, which codifies the logical relations among the different forms; for example, that an A-statement is contradictory to an O-statement; that is to say, for example, if one believes "All apples are red fruits," one cannot simultaneously believe that "Some apples are not red fruits." Thus the relationships of the square of opposition may allow immediate inference, whereby the truth or falsity of one of the forms may follow directly from the truth or falsity of a statement in another form.

Statement may refer to:

See also

In logic, a statement is either (a) a meaningful declarative sentence that is either true or false, or (b) that which a true or false declarative sentence asserts. In the latter case, a statement is distinct from a sentence in that a sentence is only one formulation of a statement, whereas there may be many other formulations expressing the same statement.

Philosopher of language, Peter Strawson advocated the use of the term "statement" in sense (b) in preference to proposition. Strawson used the term "Statement" to make the point that two declarative sentences can make the same statement if they say the same thing in different ways. Thus in the usage advocated by Strawson, "All men are mortal." and "Every man is mortal." are two different sentences that make the same statement.

In either case a statement is viewed as a truth bearer.

Examples of sentences that are (or make) statements:

"Statement" is a single by Japanese experimental band Boris. The A-side "Statement" was a preview of things to come on their full-length album Smile, which was released on Diwphalanx Records and Southern Lord Records in 2008. The B-side "Floor Shaker" is an unreleased song from the Smile sessions exclusive to this single and its own single available free with purchase from the Inoxia Records store; this single version fades out early.

The logo on the cover is a tribute to the American black metal band Von, who use the same font and insert the same pentagram into the O.

"Statement" reached number 23 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales for the week of March 29, 2008.

Both songs appear on the compilation album Boris / Variations + Live in Japan.

Track listing

Pressing History

References