If both premises are universal affirmatives, what is guaranteed about the conclusion?

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Prepare for the Traditional Logic Memoria Press Test. Optimize your learning with flashcards and in-depth explanations to boost your exam readiness.

Multiple Choice

If both premises are universal affirmatives, what is guaranteed about the conclusion?

Explanation:
When both premises are universal affirmatives, you’re saying that every member of one class is contained in another, and every member of that second class is contained in a third. Put simply, you have a chain of inclusions: X is entirely in Y, and Y is entirely in Z. From that, it follows that X is entirely in Z. That guarantees the conclusion is a universal affirmative about the extreme terms. For example: All cats are animals; All animals are living beings; therefore all cats are living beings. Here the conclusion is a universal claim about all cats, namely that they are living beings. Because the premises are universal, the conclusion cannot be particular or negative; it must also be universal.

When both premises are universal affirmatives, you’re saying that every member of one class is contained in another, and every member of that second class is contained in a third. Put simply, you have a chain of inclusions: X is entirely in Y, and Y is entirely in Z. From that, it follows that X is entirely in Z. That guarantees the conclusion is a universal affirmative about the extreme terms.

For example: All cats are animals; All animals are living beings; therefore all cats are living beings. Here the conclusion is a universal claim about all cats, namely that they are living beings.

Because the premises are universal, the conclusion cannot be particular or negative; it must also be universal.

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