The square of opposition is a diagram that was brought up within the categorical logic to stand for the logical correspondence between specific propositions in their form's usefulness. The tradition was incorporated by a square diagram that gave reasoning underlying basis for over the two millineries. In the illustration diagram of the square of opposition, there is a contrary claim in which both A and E propositions can be false, but not true. In philosophical logic, the negative propositions are inexpressively true if they have empty subjects (Parker, 2016) . This proves that the logical law outlined in the diagram safeguards the ideology against modern disapprovals. The principles of contraposition and observation were inherited within the square but had unpredictable results.
The primary purpose of the square of opposition is to give the right standards of a proposition, basing it on the truth standards of other plans with similar terms. The square of opposition gives the difference between Aristotle and Boolean explanations of categorical propositions. Categorical logic is the reasoning based on the conformity of exclusion and inclusion among classes, as stipulated by the categorical claims. It is very much essential in the clarification and assessment of deductive arguments. Categorical logic deals with logic relationships existing between different categorical statements, where a categorical statement is a statement about something. Categorical statements often assert the whole or a partial connection between a statement’s predicate terms and the subject.
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The square of opposition has some key elements representing the basic forms of propositions considered in philosophical logic. The primary features include the following:
Contraries. This feature is the correlation between the A, which is a universal affirmative, and E that is a universal negative. The opposite occurs when the propositions of A and E can neither be true. For instance, the proposal of A, "all cats are black," is not true while relating to the proposition of E: "no can has that is black."
Subcontraries. It shows the correlation between I and O, which are the particular affirmative and particular negative. This correlation occurs when the propositions can neither both be false. For example, "some schools are free" is a false statement compared to, "some schools are not free."
Subalternation. This feature is where the subalternation shows the uniformity between the particular and the universal claims with similar qualities (IEP, n.d.) . The truth of the first claim implies the correctness of the subsequent claim, but it is not contrary. For instance, the truth of proposition A, "all the lakes have flooded," shows the truthfulness of proposition I,” some lakes are flooded.”
Contradiction. In this feature, the claims are contradictory, where one claim's truth implies the falsity of the other (IEP, n.d.) . In this case, the correctness of a claim All S are P insinuates that the corresponding claim is false, taking the form of "Some S are not P." For instance, if there is a claim like, "All Christians are Democrats" (A) is true; hence, the claim "Some Christians are not Democrats" (O) should be false.
The square of opposition represents the correlation between the standard form claims. The square of opposition determines the specific propositions when given the truth values of related propositions. The square of opposition uses the following relations to convert statements into standard forms:
Conversion by finding the converse of the standard form claims through changing predicate and subject terms. The propositions are E, and I, but not those of A and O propositions have similar information to their converses: All the E and I claim, but not A and O claims are equal to their converses.
Obversion that is done by putting interrelated terms. The prefix "non" if used to create a compliment and is usually placed in front of a term (Hintikka, 2020) . In obversion, the affirmative can be changed to negative, the negative change to positive, where an A claim becomes and E claim, and O claim becomes I claim.
Contrapositions, in which the square of opposition help determine the contrapositive of a proposition by changing predicates and logics' locations, and replacing the terms with complimentary terms.
The square of opposition chart has four corners representing the basic types of claims. The main components of A, E, I, and O are:
In the proposition of A: it implies that all Subjects are Predicates.
In the E claim: no Subjects are Predicates.
In the claim of I: some Subjects are Predicates.
I n the propositions of O: some Subjects are not Predicates.
An example of a sentence in standard form is, “All the doctors are qualified to treat anemia.” By having the original statement with a subject, predicate, and qualifiers, there are four forms of statements: A, E, I, and O. The initial propositions is A (universal affirmative) whereby the subject, (referred to as S) is still the predicate, namely P. For example, all doctors are qualified to treat anemia, which can be shortened as "all S are P." The statement of E referred to us as the universal negative, is the opposite of A, where there is no subject and is a part of the predicate. For instance, “no doctor who is unqualified" would be "no S are P." The I statement which shows at least one member of the subject is a part of the predicate. For instance, some doctors treat anemia, which could be "some S are P." The O statements show that few members of the subject are not members of the predicate. For instance, some doctor is not unqualified, which could be, “some S are not P."
In the above example, it's evident that the truth of the universe affects the truth of the particular for example, in proposition A, if all doctors can treat anemia, then it would be impossible for some of the doctors to be unable to treat anemia, which is evident in proposition I. If proposition A is true, then the proposition I should be true. In the propositions of E and O, if no doctor is unqualified(E), then it will be doubtful in proposition O, to say that some doctors are not unqualified since the sentence can either be true or false.
References
Hintikka, J. J. (2020, April 30). Logic. Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/logic
IEP. (n.d.). Square of Opposition . Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/sqr-opp/
Parker, B. N. (2016). Critical Thinking. VitalSource Bookshelf. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/books/1260184714