Proposition

Proposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Proposition (disambiguation). In logic and philosophy, proposition refers to either (a) the "content" or " ...
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proposition: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com
proposition n. A plan suggested for acceptance; a proposal. ... Philosophy Dictionary: proposition ... For other uses, see Proposition (disambiguation) ...
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California Proposition 8 (2008) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The proposition did not affect domestic partnerships in California. ... 2.2.1 Petition to remove proposition from ballot. 2.2.2 Challenge to revised title and summary ...
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In common philosophical language, a proposition is the content of an Logical assertion, that is, it is truth-or-falsity and defined by the meaning of a particular piece of language. The proposition is independent of the :wikt:medium of communication.

Since the definition of "proposition" is such a crucial matter to various topics in philosophy, the nature of propositions is highly controversial. Even the existence of propositions is sometimes called into question and, as a result, the term is widely used, even when the terminology is not itself explicitly defined and therefore confusion, in regard to "meaning", may arise.

Common usage Different sentences express the same proposition when they both have the same meaning. For example, Snow is white (in English) and Schnee ist weiss (in German) are different sentences, but both say the same thing, namely, that snow is white. Hence they express the same proposition. Two different sentences in the same language may also express the same proposition. For example, Tiny crystals of frozen water precipitation are white is in English, but is said to be the same proposition as snow is white by virtue of the definition of snow.

Historical Usage Usage in Aristotle Aristotelian logic identifies a proposition as a sentence which affirms or denies the Predicate (logic) of a subject (philosophy). An Aristotelian proposition may take the form All men are mortal or Socrates is a man. Such propositions comprise the atomic elements in Propositional logic. The sentence A and B expresses both proposition A and proposition B. Both treat the proposition as a sentence having the aforementioned form. Such usage is increasingly non-standard.

Usage by the Logical Positivists Often propositions are related to closed sentences, to distinguish them from what is expressed by an open sentence, or predicate (logic). In this sense, propositions are statements that are either truth. This conception of a proposition was supported by the philosophical school of logical positivism.

Some philosophers, such as John Searle, hold that other kinds of speech or actions also assert propositions. Yes-no questions are an inquiry into a proposition's truth value. Traffic signs express propositions without using speech or written language. It is also possible to use a declarative sentence to express a proposition without asserting it, as when a teacher asks a student to comment on a quote; the quote is a proposition (that is, it has a meaning) but the teacher is not asserting it. Snow is white expresses the proposition that snow is white without asserting it (i.e. claiming snow is white).

Propositions are also spoken of as the content of beliefs and similar propositional attitude such as desires, preferences, and hopes. For example, "I desire that I have a new car," or "I wonder whether it will snow" (or, whether it is the case that it will snow). Desire, belief, and so on, are thus called propositional attitudes when they take this sort of content.

Usage in Russell Bertrand Russell held that propositions were structured entities with objects and properties as constituents. Others have held that a proposition is the set of possible worlds/states of affairs in which it is true. One important difference between these views is that on the Russellian account, two propositions that are true in all the same states of affairs can still be differentiated. For instance, the proposition that two plus two equals four is distinct on a Russellian account from three plus three equals six. If propositions are sets of possible worlds, however, then all mathematical truths are the same set (the set of all possible worlds).

Relation to the mind Propositions are primarily discussed in relation to the mind as they fit into propositional attitudes. Propositional attitudes are simply attitudes characteristic of folk psychology (belief, desire, etc.) that one can take toward a proposition (e.g. 'it is raining', 'snow is white', etc.). In English, propositions usually follow folk psychological attitudes by a "that clause" (e.g. 'Jane believes that it is raining). In philosophy of mind and psychology, mental states are often taken to primarily consist in propositional attitudes. The propositions are usually said to be the mental content of the attitude. For example, if Jane has a mental state of believing that it is raining, her mental content is the proposition 'it is raining'. Furthermore, since such mental states are about something (namely propositions), they are said to be intentionality mental states. Philosophical debates surrounding propositions as they relate to propositional attitudes have also recently centered on whether they are internal or external to the agent or whether they are mind-dependent or mind-independent entities (see the entry on Internalism#Philosophy of mind in philosophy of mind).

Treatment in logic As noted above, in Aristotelian logic a proposition is a particular kind of sentence, one which affirms or denies a Predicate (logic) of a subject (philosophy). Aristotelian propositions take forms like All men are mortal and Socrates is a man.

Propositions are the elements in the domain of propositional logic. The sentence A and B expresses both proposition A and proposition B.

Objections to propositions A number of philosophers and linguists claim that the notion of a proposition is too vague or not useful. For them, it is just a misleading concept that should be removed from philosophy and semantics. W.V. Quine maintained that the indeterminacy of translation prevented any meaningful discussion of propositions, and that they should be discarded in favor of Sentence (philosophy).

See also

External links

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy articles on:

Propositions, by Matthew McGrath.
Singular Propositions, by Greg Fitch.
Structured Propositions, by Jeffrey C. King.

proposition from FOLDOC
proposition < logic > A statement in propositional logic which may be either true or false. Each proposition is typically represented by a letter in a formula such as "p => q ...

Definition: proposition from Online Medical Dictionary
The Online Medical Dictionary is a searchable dictionary of definitions from medicine, science and technology.

Proposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In philosophy and logic, proposition refers to either (a) the content or meaning of a meaningful declarative sentence or (b) the pattern of symbols, marks, or sounds that make up a ...

California Proposition 209 (1996) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Proposition 209 was a 1996 California ballot proposition which amended the state constitution to prohibit public institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity.

Neil Mitchell - Proposition
Proposition. This library handles propositions, logical formulae consisting of literals without quantification. It automatically simplifies a proposition as it is constructed using ...

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Parliament's demands to King Charles in June 1642. ... T he Nineteen Propositions was a set of proposals sent from the Lords and Commons to King Charles in June 1642 after the King ...

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