Propositions (2024)

Disciplines >Argument > Propositions

What is a proposition |Attributes of a good proposition | Three types of proposition| See also

In speaking in support of, or against, a subject, making propositions gains agreement and commitment, changing the minds of your audience.

What is a proposition

A proposition is a viewpoint that you will create, defend or destroy. It should be worded as a declarative sentence that unambiguously expresses your position.

A proposition can be the main point of your position. It can also be a single supportive element. It can also be an opposing proposition that you will disprove.

Attributes of a good proposition

Debatable

A proposition should first be debatable in that arguments may be marshaled for and against the proposition. This is important for the persuader, too, as one way of persuading is putting up arguments against the proposition and knocking them down. Paraphrasing Sherlock Holmes, 'When all other propositions have been disproven, the truth, however improbable, will be proven.'

Provable

As well as arguing for and against the case, it should be possible to conclusively prove the truth of your proposition.Karl Popper also added the importance of falsifiability. If you cannot possibly prove something to be false, then you neither can prove it to be true.

Three types of proposition

There are three types of proposition: fact, value and policy.

Proposition of Fact

A proposition of fact is a statement in which you focus largely on belief of the audience in its truth or falsehood. Your arguments are thus aimed at getting your audience to accept the statement as being true or false.

Proposition of Value

In a proposition of values, you make a statement where you are asking your audience to make an evaluative judgment as to whether the statement is morally good or bad, right or wrong. This may be done by comparing two items and asking them which is better.

Propositions of Policy

A proportion of policy advocates a course of action. In this, you ask your audience to endorse a policy or to commit themselves to a particular action.

See also

Categorical propositions,Karl Popper,Values

Propositions (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of a proposition? ›

Examples of proposition in a Sentence

If we accept proposition “A” as true, then we must accept proposition “B” as false. The election will be a tough proposition for the mayor. Verb He was propositioned by a prostitute. He got drunk and propositioned a woman sitting next to him in the bar.

What do you mean by a proposition? ›

A proposition is a statement or an idea which people can consider or discuss to decide whether it is true.

What are the three types of proposition examples? ›

There are three types of persuasive propositions: propositions of fact, value, or policy.

What is a proposition in grammar? ›

Among the meanings of proposition are “something offered for consideration or acceptance,” “an expression in language or signs of "something that can be believed, doubted, or denied or is either true or false,” and “something of an indicated kind to be dealt with.” Proposition can also function as a verb (something ...

How to identify propositions? ›

A proposition is a statement that is either true or false. For example, "That dog is black." is a proposition, because it is either true or false. "Is that dog black?" is not a proposition, because it is a question, not a statement.

What is a proposition in writing? ›

Proposition--a statement that affirms or denies something. Support–statements that work together to explain, illustrate or provide evidence for a proposition. or thesis. Thesis Statement–a sentence that identifies the main idea and/or central purpose of a paper.

What is a simple proposition? ›

Simple propositions are declarative sentences which do not contain a connective. The restriction to declarative sentences is important. In propositional logic each proposition, simple or complex, must be capable of being either true or false. So we won't count questions or commands, for example, as simple propositions.

What are the four basic types of proposition? ›

Thus, categorical propositions are of four basic forms: “Every S is P,” “No S is P,” “Some S is P,” and “Some S is not P.” These forms are designated by the letters A, E, I, and O, respectively, so that “Every man is mortal,” for example, is an A-proposition.

What is an example of a propositional thought? ›

Propositional thought is the reasoning that one does without specific objects involved. Instead, one develops logical propositions, which one can tie together by thinking. For example, one may put forth the proposition that cats are mammals, and that mammals lactate, therefore concluding that cats lactate.

What are the 20 examples of proposition? ›

List of common prepositions
Timein (month/year), on (day), at (time), before, during, after, since, until
Locationunder, over, above, below, between, in, out, on, at, by
Movementto, into, towards, through, across, up, down, around, past
Other relationshipsfor, by, from, of, as, with, about
May 15, 2019

What is an example of a preposition? ›

A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Some examples of prepositions are words like "in," "at," "on," "of," and "to."

What is a general proposition? ›

General propositions are commonly described as being those propositions which arise from matrices by generalization, that is, as being such propositions as can be derived from some matrix by the attachment of an applicative, "some" or "every," to each variable constituent of the matrix.

What is an example of a proposition in research? ›

An example of a proposition is: “An increase in student intelligence causes an increase in their academic achievement.” This declarative statement does not have to be true, but must be empirically testable using data, so that we can judge whether it is true or false.

What is a sentence or proposition? ›

A proposition is an intensional entity; it is a meaning composed of concepts. A sentence is a linguistic entity. A written sentence is a string of characters. A sentence can be used by a person to express meanings, but no sentence is intrinsically meaningful.

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