MISS JONES'S object in this [book] is to propound "a certain analysis of categorical propositions of the forms 'S is P, S is not P', to show that this is the only general analysis which it is possible to accept, and to indicate its bearing upon logical science." We need propositions of these forms for significant assertion, and without them no satisfactory statement can be given of the three fundamental laws of thought. The first two of these are commonly formulated as (1) 'A is A', (2) 'A is not non-A', and the third sometimes as 'A is either A or non-A'. Desperate efforts have been made by logicians to give a valuable meaning to 'A is A'; but if 'A is A', interpreted as 'A is A', is retained as the first fundamental law, there is no possible passage from it to 'A is B'. Lotze therefore gives up (theoretically) 'S is P'. 'A is A' tells us no more than 'A is A', and if we begin with it, we must also end with it, if we are to be consistent. We must, then, not begin with it, but with a law of significant assertion-assertion of the forms 'S is P', 'S is not P'. If we start with the principle that 'every subject of Predication is an identity (of denotation) in diversity (of intension)' this law and the laws of contradiction and excluded middle do furnish a real and adequate and obvious basis and starting point of "formal logic."Miss Jones illustrates and applies her contention in a concise but interesting way, and Prof. Stout thinks that she makes out her case. -' Nature', Volume 87

Excerpt from A New Law of Thought, and Its Logical Bearings Two of the three fundamental Laws of Thought, which are traditionally regarded as the cardinal principles of Formal Logic, are concerned with the relation of pro positions to each other. According to the Law of Contradiction, two propositions of the form "A is B" and "A is not B" cannot both be true. According to the Law of Excluded Middle, they cannot both be false. Now it is clear that if there is another principle which expresses the fundamental condition of the possibility of any proposition taken by itself, without reference to others, this also must be regarded as a fundamental Law of Thought, and as being logically prior to the Laws of Contradiction and Excluded Middle. It is the aim of Miss Jones in the following pages to show that there is such a Law, and to exhibit in detail its vital importance in the treatment of the whole range of topics with which Formal Logic deals. This Law of "Significant Assertion" is formulated as follows: - Every Subject of Predication is an identity (of denotation) in diversity (of intension). In other words, every affirmative proposition asserts, and every negative proposition denies, the union of different attributes within the unity of the same thing. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

MISS JONES'S object in this [book] is to propound "a certain analysis of categorical propositions of the forms S is P, S is not P, to show that this is the only general analysis which it is possible to accept, and to indicate its bearing upon logical science." We need propositions of these forms for significant assertion, and without them no satisfactory statement can be given of the three fundamental laws of thought. The first two of these are commonly formulated as (1) A is A, (2) A is not non-A, and the third sometimes as A is either A or non-A. Desperate efforts have been made by logicians to give a valuable meaning to A is A; but if A is A, interpreted as A is A, is retained as the first fundamental law, there is no possible passage from it to A is B. Lotze therefore gives up (theoretically) S is P. A is A tells us no more than A is A, and if we begin with it, we must also end with it, if we are to be consistent. We must, then, not begin with it, but with a law of significant assertion-assertion of the forms S is P, S is not P. If we start with the principle that every subject of Predication is an identity (of denotation) in diversity (of intension) this law and the laws of contradiction and excluded middle do furnish a real and adequate and obvious basis and starting point of "formal logic." Miss Jones illustrates and applies her contention in a concise but interesting way, and Prof. Stout thinks that she makes out her case. - Nature“/i>, Volume 87 [1911]

Two of the three fundamental Laws of Thought, which are traditionally regarded as the cardinal principles of Formal Logic, are concerned with the relation of propositions to each other. According to the Law of Contradiction, two propositions of the form "A is B" and "A is not B" cannot both be true. According to the Law of Excluded Middle, they cannot both be false. Now it is clear that if there is another principle which expresses the fundamental condition of the possibility of any proposition taken by itself, without reference to others, this also must be regarded as a fundamental Law of Thought, and as being logically prior to the Laws of Contradiction and Excluded Middle. It is the aim of this brief essay to show that there is such a Law, and to exhibit in detail its vital importance in the treatment of the whole range of topics with which Formal Logic deals. This Law of "Significant Assertion" is formulated as follows: - "Every Subject of Predication is an identity (of denotation) in diversity (of intension)".

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