Page:Chance, love, and logic - philosophical essays (IA chancelovelogicp00peir 0).pdf/173

 SIXTH PAPER

DEDUCTION, INDUCTION, AND HYPOTHESIS

I

The chief business of the logician is to classify arguments; for all testing clearly depends on classification. The classes of the logicians are defined by certain typical forms called syllogisms. For example, the syllogism called Barbara is as follows:

S is M; M is P: Hence, S is P.

Or, to put words for letters—

Enoch and Elijah were men; all men die: Hence, Enoch and Elijah must have died.

The "is P" of the logicians stands for any verb, active or neuter. It is capable of strict proof (with which, however, I will not trouble the reader) that all arguments whatever can be put into this form; but only under the condition that the is shall mean "is for the purposes of the argument" or "is represented by." Thus, an induction will appear in this form something like this:

These beans are two-thirds white;

But, the beans in this bag are (represented by) these beans;