Identify the figure of the following syllogism: All artists are egoists. Some…
2024
Identify the figure of the following syllogism:
All artists are egoists.
Some artists are paupers.
Therefore, some paupers are egoists.
Answer: C. IIIrd figure — Concept. In traditional (Aristotelian) logic a categorical syllogism contains exactly three terms. The predicate of the conclusion is the major term (P), the…
- A.
Ist figure
- B.
IInd figure
- C.
IIIrd figure
- D.
IVth figure
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept.
In traditional (Aristotelian) logic a categorical syllogism contains exactly three terms. The predicate of the conclusion is the major term (P), the subject of the conclusion is the minor term (S), and the term that occurs in both premises but never in the conclusion is the middle term (M). The figure of a syllogism is settled by one thing alone — the position the middle term occupies in the two premises, with the major premise (the premise carrying P) written first.
Figure | Major premise | Minor premise | Where M stands |
|---|---|---|---|
Figure I | M–P | S–M | subject, then predicate |
Figure II | P–M | S–M | predicate in both premises |
Figure III | M–P | M–S | subject in both premises |
Figure IV | P–M | M–S | predicate, then subject |
Application.
The conclusion is “Some paupers are egoists”. Its subject paupers is therefore the minor term S, and its predicate egoists is the major term P.
The term that occurs in both premises but not in the conclusion is artists, so artists is the middle term M.
The premise carrying the major term egoists is “All artists are egoists”. In it artists (M) is the subject and egoists (P) the predicate, so the major premise has the form M–P.
The premise carrying the minor term paupers is “Some artists are paupers”. In it artists (M) is again the subject and paupers (S) the predicate, so the minor premise has the form M–S.
The premise pair is therefore M–P, M–S: the middle term is the subject of both premises. Reading that row off the table gives Figure III.
Cross-check.
Both premises literally open with the middle term artists. Among the four schemas M sits in subject position twice in exactly one of them, so the placement is forced and no other reading survives.
Mood check: the major premise is a universal affirmative (A), the minor premise a particular affirmative (I) and the conclusion a particular affirmative (I), so the mood is AII. AII in this arrangement is the traditionally valid mood Datisi, which confirms both the placement and the validity of the argument.
Hence the syllogism stands in Figure III — the arrangement in which the middle term is the subject of both premises.