Categorical Syllogisms

Abstract

We now examine a very specific kind of argument, the categorical syllogism. A categorical syllogism consists of three categorical statements, two of which are premises and the third of which is the conclusion. There must be exactly three terms in the syllogism. Each of the three terms must appear exactly twice in the argument. The predicate term of the conclusion is the major term of the syllogism. It appears as one of the terms in the major premise. The subject term of the conclusion is the minor term of the syllogism. It appears as one of the terms in the minor premise. The third term, called the middle term, appears in each of the premises, but not in the conclusion. Standard form for a categorical syllogism is: