as "house," "tree," "knife"), making a Definition for it, and
then testing his answer by referring to any English Dictionary.]

pg008

BOOK II.

PROPOSITIONS.

CHAPTER I.

_PROPOSITIONS GENERALLY._

Sec. 1.

_Introductory._

Note that the word "some" is to be regarded, henceforward, as meaning
"one or more."

The word 'Proposition,' as used in ordinary conversation, may be applied
to _any_ word, or phrase, which conveys any information whatever.

[Thus the words "yes" and "no" are Propositions in the ordinary
sense of the word; and so are the phrases "you owe me five
farthings" and "I don't!"

Such words as "oh!" or "never!", and such phrases as "fetch me
that book!" "which book do you mean?" do not seem, at first
sight, to convey any _information_; but they can easily be
turned into equivalent forms which do so, viz. "I am surprised,"
"I will never consent to it," "I order you to fetch me that
book," "I want to know which book you mean."]

But a '=Proposition=,' as used in this First Part of "Symbolic Logic,"
has a peculiar form, which may be called its '=Normal form='; and if any
Proposition, which we wish to use in an argument, is not in normal form,
we must reduce it to such a form, before we can use it.
pg009
A '=Proposition=,' when in normal form, asserts, as to certain two
Classes, which are called its '=Subject=' and '=Predicate=,' either

(1) that _some_ Members of its Subject are Members
of its Predicate;

or (2) that _no_ Members of its Subject are Members
of its Predicate;

or (3) that _all_ Members of its Subject are Members
of its Predicate.

The Subject and the Predicate of a Proposition are called its '=Terms=.'

Two Propositions, which convey the _same_ information, are said to be
'=equivalent='.

[Thus, the two Propositions, "I see John" and "John is seen by
me," are equivalent.]

Sec. 2.

_Normal form of a Proposition._

A Proposition, in normal form, consists of four parts, viz.--

(1) The word "some," or "no," or "all." (This word,
which tells us _how many_ Members of the Subject
are also Members of the Predicate, is called the
'=Sign of Quantity=.')

(2) Name of Subject.

(3) The verb "are" (or "is"). (This is called the
'