What best describes a syllogistic mood?

• A. The figure number
• B. The pattern of proposition forms in the two premises and the conclusion (e.g., AAA-1)
• C. The mood of the author
• D. The number of terms

Answer: (A)

In syllogistic logic, mood names the sequence of proposition forms that appear in the two premises and the conclusion. Each proposition is one of A, E, I, or O, and the mood is the pattern those forms create in the three positions (major premise, minor premise, and conclusion). For example, a syllogism where all three propositions are universal affirmatives is labeled AAA, and you can add the figure to indicate how the terms are arranged, like AAA-1. The figure number, however, describes the placement of the middle term and the overall arrangement, not the actual pattern of the proposition forms. So the best description of mood is the pattern of proposition forms in the two premises and the conclusion (with the figure appended to show arrangement).