Editing Term logic (section)

== Proposition ==
In term logic, a "proposition" is simply a ''form of language'': a particular kind of [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]], in which the subject and [[predicate (grammar)|predicate]] are combined, so as to assert something true or false. It is not a thought, nor an [[abstract entity]]. The word ''"propositio"'' is from the Latin, meaning the first premise of a [[syllogism]]. Aristotle uses the word premise (''protasis'') as a sentence affirming or denying one thing or another (''[[Posterior Analytics]]'' 1. 1 24a 16), so a [[premise]] is also a form of words.

However, as in modern philosophical logic, it means that which is asserted by the sentence. Writers before [[Frege]] and [[Bertrand Russell|Russell]], such as [[F. H. Bradley|Bradley]], sometimes spoke of the "judgment" as something distinct from a sentence, but this is not quite the same. As a further confusion the word "sentence" derives from the Latin, meaning an [[opinion]] or [[judgment]], and so is equivalent to "[[proposition]]".

The ''[[logical quality]]'' of a proposition is whether it is affirmative (the predicate is affirmed of the subject) or negative (the predicate is denied of the subject). Thus ''every philosopher is mortal'' is affirmative, since the mortality of philosophers is affirmed universally, whereas ''no philosopher is mortal'' is negative by denying such mortality in particular.

The ''quantity'' of a proposition is whether it is universal (the predicate is affirmed or denied of all subjects or of "the whole") or particular (the predicate is affirmed or denied of some subject or a "part" thereof). In case where [[existential]] import is assumed, [[quantifier (linguistics)|quantification]] implies the existence of at least one subject, unless disclaimed.