1

Since 'some' means at least one and 'all' refers to an entire group of things then at least one member of that group is being referenced thus satisfying the definition of 'some,' right?

If this is the case, then could a statement "All S are P" also be interpreted as "Some S are P?"

4
  • 3
    Only in the Aristotelian point of view would one claim that if you say all x are y then you are definitely also saying there is at least on x that is a y. Immediately one may notice if x stands for unicorn then the statement "All unicorns are white colored mammals" is an issue. The issue is there are no unicorns so the implication there is at least one unicorn that is a white colored mammal seems to be false.This idea is know as Existential Import. Modern logic is not Aristotelian logic. Modern logic is more about mathematics today. Aristotelian logic was more related to how people speak.
    – Logikal
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 21:56
  • 2
    In modern classical logic, no. If there are no S, then "all S are P" is true but "some S are P" is false. Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 23:10
  • @lemontree Does "some s" imply "s exists" now? Commented Jun 23, 2021 at 0:39
  • 1
    Yes, 'some' means 'at least one' in standard logic and I also can't see how it would not imply existence intuitively. Commented Jun 23, 2021 at 10:14

0

You must log in to answer this question.

Browse other questions tagged .