DEFINITION/NATURE OF TERMS

 The expression of the essence of an object is made possible only by the use of
term.
 Term – signifies or expresses the essence of the object. It is a word or expression
that has a specific idea or concept.
 It could be generalized that all terms are words; however, not all words are terms.
 An idea (of reality) can only be expressed through the use of a term.
 Idea and term are correlative terms- one cannot exist apart from the other.
 Words signify a thought or a thing when they are formed as a concept, mental
representation, mental proposition or mental argumentation, in which case they
become terms.
 Words without meaning, syncategorematic or co-significant words like or, a,
the, an, of, for and at, are not considered terms that signify an idea.
 In logic, only the categorematic or significant terms bear meaning because they
pertain to a concept of an idea of a particular reality. Terms like, apple, dog,
umbrella, and gun represent specific and concrete realities; they are examples of
categorematic terms.
 Syncategorematic terms must be paired with categorematic terms, e.g., an apple,
a dog, some umbrellas, the gun.
 KINDS OF TERMS
(1) Exactness – from the standpoint of exactness, terms are understood based on
how they manifest or express ideas. There are three kinds of terms from the context
of exactness:
a. Univocal terms are used in precisely the same sense or meaning in any given
context, e.g., attorney (lawyer), metals (gold, silver, copper, lead).
b. Equivocal terms are those which are, in a given context, used in two or more
different senses or meanings, e.g., light (as opposite of heavy) and light (as
something produced by electricity); seat (as a position) and seat (as a chair).
c. Analogous terms are those which are used in different but related senses or
meanings. Analogous terms are commonly used in figures of speech. They are
taken to refer to those terms used for several things having partly the same and
partly different meanings, e.g., hands of the clock, and eyes of the needle.
(2) Comprehension – from the standpoint of comprehension, terms are classified
as positive, negative, privative, simple complex, concrete, or abstract.
a. Positive terms are those which express an affirmation of a particular thing,
e.g., service to mankind, and loyalty to one’s country.
b. Negative terms are those which express the absence (or negation) of a thing,
e.g., unmindfulness; (it denies measurability), infinity (denotes the absence of
limitations), non-living.
c. Privative terms are actually negative terms which denote the absence of
something (or a perfection) in a being which the being ought to have, e.g.,
blindness, ignorance.
d. Simple terms are those which consist of a single word, e.g., mother, fidelity and
hope.
e. Complex terms are those which have more than one word, e.g., sin against the
holy spirit, the President of the Republic of the Philippines and mayor of the city of
Cebu.
f. Concrete terms are those which express concrete ideas, e.g., head of the state,
man, and animal.
g. Abstract terms are those which express abstract ideas, e.g., metalness,
woodiness, humanity and animality.
(3) Extension – from the standpoint of extension, terms are classified as singular,
universal, indefinite, particular, or collective.
a. Singular terms are those which apply to only a single individual or group (taken
as a whole), e.g., this student, this school.
b. Universal terms are those which are used for each or for all individuals to which
they apply, e.g., every mother, all students.
c. Indefinite terms are those which do not have specific words that indicate their
extension (meaning they do not have specific quantifiers), e.g., candidates,
students.
d. Particular terms are those which stand for an indefinite group or individuals,
e.g., some candidates, majority of the students.
e. Collective terms are those which may be singular, universal, particular or
indefinite as they express the idea of groups, e.g., this family, delegation.
(4) Opposition – from the standpoint of opposition, terms are classified as
contradictory, contrary, or paradoxical.
a. Contradictory terms – are those which are so opposed to each other in terms
of their meanings that when one of the terms is accepted, the other is rejected,
e.g., absent and present and living and dead.
b. Contrary terms – similar to contradictory terms, as they opposed each other;
however, they do not exclude each other, leaving a middle ground or possibility
of their relation, e.g., rich and poor (middle ground: middle class).
c. Paradoxical terms – are those which seem to be contradictory terms, yet are
combinable or reconcilable, e.g., honest liar, true lies.
 SUPPOSITION AND APPELLATION
Supposition
 Supposition is derived from Latin word subponere or supposition, which means to
“stand for”. It is the precise meaning that a term stands for in a proposition.
 A term’s meaning depends on the use or function of the term in the proposition.
 The meaning of a term is grossly dependent on how it stands for a specific function
in a proposition.
Example: “The bat flies overhead”; “I have stricken the ball with a bat”.
 Logicians divide supposition in four (4) standpoints, namely:
1. From the standpoint of the object;
2. From the standpoint of the extension of the term;
3. From the standpoint of the comprehension of the term; and
4. From the standpoint of the meaning of the term.
(1) From the standpoint of the object - supposition is further divided into real,
ideal (imaginary), and intramental (logical).
a. Real supposition is the use of a term to represent the actual existence of a
thing in the external world, e.g., the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao, the Mafia of Italy.
b. Ideal supposition (imaginary) is the use of a term to stand for an object of
imagination or fancy, e.g., Batman, Spiderman.
c. Intramental supposition (logical) is the use of the term to denote something
that exist only in the mind, e.g., blue charcoal, footprints in the air.
(2) From the standpoint of the extension of the term – supposition is divided
into singular, universal, particular, and collective.
(3) From the standpoint of the comprehension of the term – supposition is
divided into simple, compound, concrete, and abstract.

*The discussion given on the classification of ideas in terms of comprehension and

extension applies these two standpoints.
(4) From the standpoint of meaning – supposition is classified as precise,
ambiguous, or proper.
a. Precise supposition is the use of a term to stand for only one meaning in the
proposition, e.g., Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines.
b. Ambiguous supposition is the use of the term to stand for several probable
meanings in the proposition, e.g., For sale automobile owned by a doctor slightly
used.
c. Proper supposition is the use of a term to represent a proper object, e.g., Manila
is the capital of the Philippines, Paris is the capital of France.
Appellation
 Appellation literally means “the calling of something”. Applied in logic, appellation
refers to the function of a term that dominates another term.
 There are two terms that govern appellation, namely: the appellant and the
appellate. The term appellant pertains to the dominating term while the term
appellate pertains to the dominated term.
Example:
a. Excellent (appellant) doctor (appellate).
b. Good (appellant) father (appellate).
 THE PREDICAMENTS (CATEGORIES) AND THE PREDICABLES
The Predicaments
 Predicaments is the English equivalent of the Greek term categories. This is the
reason why in Aristotelian logic, the term categories is preferred to predicaments.
 Categories are ideas that express the essence of a thing.
 Aristotelian categories are classifications of universal concepts or universal natures.
 To Aristotle, there are two kinds of categories, also called supreme predicaments,
namely: substance and accident. And, over and above them is the transcendental
being.
 Substance is understood as a being whose existence is independent of other
beings, while accident is a being whose existence is dependent on other beings.
 The ten accidental categories of Aristotle:
(1) Quantity – an accident through which a substance becomes divisible into parts,
or may have an extension or a numerical modification, e.g., width, length, and
size.
(2) Quality – an accident through which a substance could have a formal (pertaining
to form) modification, e.g., color, figure, shape.
(3) Relation – an accident that pertains to the reference of a substance to another,
e.g., paternity, maternity, fraternity.
(4) Action – an accident that pertains to one substance producing an effect in
another, e.g., driving (a car), peeling (a banana), sawing (a piece of wood).
(5) Passion – an accident that refers to a substance being affected by another, e.g.,
being humiliated, being murdered.
(6) When – an accident that pertains to a circumstance or a situation relative to
time, e.g., yesterday, today, morning.
(7) Where – an accident that refers to a circumstance or situation relative to place
or a point in space, e.g., downstairs, in the Philippines, in the beach.
(8) Posture – an accident that refers to a being’s determination relative to the
disposition of its parts, e.g., kneeling, walking, standing.
(9) Habit – an accident that refers to a being’s outward modification of another
being relative to equipment or clothing, e.g., clothed, armed.

*a discussion of predicaments is crucial since in logic it is always necessary to assign

an idea to its appropriate category. It requires one to look for the proper meaning
expressed in an idea. For example, ideas like daughter, mother, although they are all
substances, belong to the accidental category called relation.
The Predicables
 Predicables is the various ways or modes of predicating universal concepts.
 All kinds of propositions always have three fundamental components, namely:
subject, copula, and predicate.
 Aristotle made it clear that there are only five (5) ways through which a predicate
can describe or “say” something about the subject. Aristotle called these
predicates as predicables. They are as follows: genus, species, specific difference,
property, and accident.
(1) Genus – express a part of the essence of a subject which the subject has in
common with other species belonging to its class.
For example, in “Acacia has leaves, trunks, and branches,” the predicate terms
leaves, trunks, and branches express only some parts of the essence of Acacia which
shares in common with other trees.
(2) Species – expresses the fullness of the essence (whole essence) of a subject.
For example, in “Man is a thinking being”, this means that any member of the
humankind capable of thinking. In this regard, thinking is deemed synonymous with
the idea human being, although rationality cannot be absolutely postulated as an
intrinsic capability of all human beings since there are those who cannot be ascribed
with rationality, e.g., insane, imbeciles, morons.
(3) Specific Difference (also called Differentia) – expresses a part of the essence of
a subject through which the subject is distinguished from other species belonging to
the same genus.
For example, concepts like human person and brute belong to the same genus
(animal); however, they are two different species. So, what is the difference between
the animality of a human person with that of the brute? The answer is rationality.
Whereas human person is a rational animal, a brute is not.
(4) Property – expresses a characteristic or an attribute that is not part of the
essence of a subject, however, must indispensably flow from its (subject) essence.
For example, in “Man is a laughing being,” “Man is a talking animal”, the concepts
laughing and talking all stemmed from the essence of man, i.e., rationality. These
concepts are not necessarily part of the essence of man, but they all flow from the
rationality (essence) of man.
(5) Accident – expresses an attribute of a subject that is neither a part nor
associated with the essence of the subject, but is related to the subject only in a
contingent manner or mode. Being a contingent attribute of a subject, an accident
may or may not be connected or associated with the subject.
For example, in “This table is round” “This man is tall”, the concepts round and tall
do not determine the essence of their respective subjects. Therefore, shape and
height is a matter of accident.
 DEFINITION OF DEFINITION
 Definition is derived from the Latin word definire, which means to “to state the
limits of” or “to enclose within limit.” In logic, definition is taken to mean the
explanation of an idea (or term) based on its content or use.
KINDS OF DEFINITION
a. Nominal Definition – explains the meaning of a term by way of considering it
(the term defined) as a name. This could be accounted to the fact that the term
nominal is derived from the Latin word nominalis, which means “having
reference to a name”.
b. Real Definition – explains the meaning of a term by way of recounting the
content of an idea with accuracy or completeness. It says what a thing is.
*thus, real definition gives the meaning of the nature of the thing as signified by the
term, while nominal definition is meant to identify the thing specified by the term.
 RULES OF DEFINITION
 Correct thinking can never happen if one lacks a clear understanding or grasp of
the elements of thought or ideas, because clear understanding depends on one’s
adequate knowledge of the essential definition of terms. Thus, logic provides rules
of definition.
(1) A definition must be clear or exact. A definition must provide a precise idea
of the term defined, e.g., “A ballpen is an instrument used in writing”.
(2) A definition must be brief. A definition must contain no superfluous words- a
definition must not be excessive.
(3) A definition must not contain the term defined either tacitly or
explicitly. A definition must not be circular in order for it to clarify the meaning
of the thing (term) defined; the name of the thing being defined should not be
repeated in the definition.
(4) A definition must be coextensive with the term or thing defined. A
definition must be able to distinguish the thing defined from all other things. The
definition and the term defined must have identical extension; in other words, they
can be made convertible.