Eduction and Infer

What is inference?
It is the way by which the mind
acquires new knowledge from a
set of facts that is already known
The knowledge gained from
inference is called insight and it
is arrived at by way of judgment
To judge is to affirm whatever
is true, and truth is arrived at
when we infer from a set of
known facts

Judgment is rendered when the

mind sees new information

Inference, thus, is a result of the

minds way of connecting a new
set of data with a previously
known truth.
Inference is either mediate or immed
There are two types of immediate
inference: EDUCTION and
OPPOSITION

Immediate inference - springs directly from a

single premise to a conclusion without the mediation
of any other premise.
e.g. No saint is a sinner.
No sinner is a saint.

Mediate inference derivation of a conclusion

from at least two identified related facts as premises.
e. g. All men of integrity are not morally offensive.
But all morally offensive people are envious
people.
Hence, a number of envious people are not men
of integrity.

As forms of immediate inference,

they allow the human mind to derive
some meaning from a given
proposition said to be implied in the
former
It expresses not a new truth or
fact but simply shows by way of a
new proposition a meaning
already implied in the given
proposition

EDUCTION
It is a process of creating a new
proposition from a given proposition
by interchanging the subject and the
predicate of the given proposition
and/or the use or removal of
negatives
Also called as equipollence, or giving
equal value, it is the method of stating
the same truth in another way

Types of Eduction
1. Conversion it deals with the
creation of a new proposition by
interchanging the subject and
predicate of a given proposition but
leaving its quality unchanged.
Re-phrases the truth of a given
proposition called convertend by
interchanging the subject and the
predicate, without over-extending the
quality of either of them. The resulting
statement is called converse.

Method:
A. Interchange subject (S) and
predicate (P) without overextending their quality. Overextension is the mirror of taking a
particular term as a universal term.
To avoid this mistake, determine first
the respective extension of subject
and predicate before interchanging
B. Retain the quality of the copula of
their position in the sentence.
the convertend, that is, the
affirmative remains affirmative, or
the negative remains negative.

Examples:
Convertend: No man is infinite. (Su
+ Pp)
Converse: No infinite being is a
man. (Su + Pp)
The given proposition is called the
convertend while the new proposition
is called the converse.
converse

Example:
Convertend: Every man is an animal.
Converse: Some animals are men. (S
The universal subject Every man of
the convertend becomes a particular
term when it becomes the predicate of
the converse which is an affirmative
and because the convertend is an
affirmative, the predicate animal is a
particular term and remains so, as
indicated by the quantifier some when it
becomes the subject-term of the converse.
This shows how the A is converting to I

Convertend: All birds are not

achines. (Se Pu)
Converse: All machines are not birds.
e-Pu)
In the example above, the
convertend being a negative E
proposition, the subject and the
predicate are both universal terms
Hence, interchanging their position
in the converse does not alter their
respective extension.
Thus, the E proposition converts to
E proposition.

Types of Conversion
A. Simple Conversion preserves the
quantity of the convertend to converse.
This is only possible with the
propositions E and I since these
propositions both subject (S) and
predicate (P) have the same quantity or
extension. Thus, E converts to E and I
Example
Example
of I=I
convertsoftoE=E
I as in these
examples:
convert:

convert:

E: A dog is not a
cat.
A cat is not a dog.

I: Some men are

teachers.
Some teachers are

B. Partial or accidental conversion has the

quantity of the converse different from that
of the convertend, such as the conversion of
A proposition to I proposition:
A=

I:

Every student is diligent.

Some diligent are students.
Sa + Pp = Si + Pp

Conversion is not applicable to the O

proposition since this would result to overextension when its particular subject (So)
becomes a universal term as the predicate (Pu)
of a negative proposition, as shown:
Some students are not diligent
particular

2. Obversion rephrases the truth of a

given proposition called overtend, by
changing the quality of the copula and
that of the predicate. The resulting
proposition is called obverse. Follow
these
steps:
1. The
subject and quantity of the
proposition must be retained; the
universal remains universal, the
particular remains a particular
proposition
2. The quality of the proposition is
changed; the affirmative becomes
negative, vice-versa
3. Lastly, use the contradictory of the

This method applies to all four categorical

propositions. A obverts to E and vice versa.
I obverts to O and vice versa. Either which
way the truth expressed remains the same.
(a)A=E: Obvertend: Every man is rational.
Sa + Pu
Obverse:
Every man is not irrational.
Se Pu
(b) E=A: Obvertend: Every chemical is not
safe. Se Pu
Obverse:
Every chemical is unsafe.
Sa + Pu
(c) I=O: Obvertend: Some fruits are green.
Si + Pp
Obverse:
Some fruits are not non-

Give the obversion of the following:

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

None of the boys is absent. se -Pu

All of the boys is present. sa+Pp
Some books are novel. si+Pp
Some books are not non-novel . so-Pp
Some flowers are not red. so-Pp
Some flowers are non-red. si+Pp
Every creature is mortal. sa+pu
Every creature is not immortal. se-pu
Some candies are not sweet. so-pp
Some candies are non-sweet. si+pp

6. Some TV programs are funny. Si+Pp

Some TV programs are not non funny. So-Pp
7. Every product is priced. Sa+Pu.
Every product is not unpriced. Se-Pu
8. No bird is cat. Se-pu
All bird are not non cat . Sa+pu
9. Some toys are not mechanical. So-pp
Some toys are non-mechanical. Si+pp
10. Some Filipinos are authors. Si+Pp
Some Filipinos are not non- authors. So- Pp

3. Contraposition rephrases the

truth of a given proposition called
contraponend by combining the
procedures of obversion and conversion.
The resulting proposition is called
contraposit. Contraposition may either
be partial or complete.

1. Partial contraposition follows these

steps:
(1) Obvert and then convert the obverse
of the given
proposition.
The proposition: Every mathematician is a
genius. (an A Proposition),
when obverted results Every
mathematician is not a non-genius, (an E
Proposition)
This proposition will have to be converted to
Every non-genius is not a
mathematician, an E proposition, to
complete the first type.
The I proposition, Some citizen is not a

This method contraposes A to E, E to I, and O to

I. However, the I proposition cannot be
contraposed because it obverts to O and O
cannot be converted: Examples:
(a) A=E:
Contraponend: All men are rational. Sa + Pu
Obverse:
No man is irrational. Se Pu
Contraposit:
No irrational is man. Se
Pu
(b) E=I:
Contraponend: No crime is tolerable. Se Pu
Obverse:
All crimes are intolerable. Sa +
Pu
Contraposit:
Some intolerable are crimes.
Si +Pp
(e) O=I:

2. Complete contraposition makes it

possible to change A to A, E to O, and O to
O. Follow these steps:
(1)Obvert the contraponend,
(2) Convert the obverse,
(3) Obvert the converse.

(a)A=A:
(Activity: Complete the symbolic
presentation)
Contraponend:
Obverse:
creature.
Converse:
T-rex..

Every T-rex is extinct. Sa + Pu

Every T-rex is not a non-extinct
Every non-extinct creature is not a

(b) E=O:
Contraponend:
A dog is not a cat.
Obverse:
Every dog is non-cat.
Converse:
Some non-cats are dogs.
Contraposit:
Some non-cats are
non-dogs.
(c) O=O:
Contraponend: Some students are not
scholars.
Obverse:
Some students are nonscholars.
Converse:
Some non-scholars are
students.
Obverse:
Some non-scholars are

Note that in contraposition, the

contraposit has a subject that serves as
the contradictory of the predicate of the
given proposition. Thus the original
predicate extinct is transformed into its
contradictory non-extinct and becomes
the subject of the contraposit.
An I proposition does not have any
contraposit.
Since the first step in contraposition is
obversion, obverting an I proposition
yields an O proposition, however, you
can not convert an O proposition
The process of contraposition cannot be

Contrapose the following propositions

Every p is a non-q. sa+pu
Every p is not a q se-pu
Every q is not a p se-pu
2. Every non-p is a non-q. sa+pu
Every non-p is not a q. se-pu
Every q is not a non-p. se-pu
3. All dinosaurs are extinct. sa+pu
All dinosaurs are not non-extinct. Se-pu
All non-extinct are not dinosaurs. Se-pu
1.

4.Some stones are billions of years old .Si+Pp

5.Some AFP planes are not combat. So-pp
Some AFP planes are non-combat. Si+pp
Some non-combat are AFP planes. Si+pp

4. Inversion rephrases a given

proposition called invertend resulting
to its inverse. This is done through a
series of conversion and obversion.
Inversion can only be applied to
A and E
propositions
I and O propositions cannot
be inverted

Inverting A to O and E to I
propositions

Inverting an A proposition follows

these steps:

Obversion-conversion-obversionconversion-obversion or (O-C-O-C-O)
Example:
Every X is a Y is obverted to Every
X is not a non-Y, converted to Every
non-Y is not an X, obverted to Every
non-Y is a non-X, converted to Some
non-X is a non-Y, and lastly, obverted

Inverting an E proposition follows

these steps: conversion-obversionconversion-obversion
or (C-O-C-O)
Example:
No man is immortal is converted
to No immortal being is a man,
obverted to Every immortal being
is a non-man, converted to Some
non-man is an immortal being and
lastly, obverted to Some non-man is
not a mortal being.

Activity: Complete the following

Conversion: Convert of the following
propositions:
1.All creatures are finite.
2.Every angel is nonmaterial.
3.No kid is a wizard.
4.Some beings are unreal.
5.Whatever is true is of great
value.
6.Some engineers are
Filipinos.
7.Florence is a nurse.

Obversion: Obvert the following proposit

1. Every man is a homo
economicus.
2. All gardens are beautiful.
3. Love is not a thing.
4. Some moments are
irrelevant.
5. Some opinions are
outdated.
6. All non-p is not a non-q.
7. Some games are violent.

Contraposition: Contrapose the following

propositions

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

All dinosaurs are extinct.

Some stones are billions of years old.
Some AFP planes are not combat.
Free speech is loved by the masses.
Some province is rich in natural resourc
Some athletes are women.
Every crime is punishable.
All poems are meaningful.

Inversion: Invert the following propositio

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

All angels are immortal.

All substances are changeable.
No man is beyond the laws of physics
No man is eternal.
Every spirit is not material.
Every non-p is not a non-q.
Every human being is free.
No person is non-rational.