What is the Second Law of Opposition?

• A. Contrary statements cannot both be true at the same time, but they can both be false at the same time.
• B. Contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time, but they can both be false at the same time.
• C. Subcontrary statements cannot both be true at the same time.
• D. Subalternate statements cannot be both false at the same time.

Answer: (B)

The second law of opposition deals with contradictory statements, which are exact negations of each other. In such a pair, if one statement is true, the other must be false; they cannot both be true. The choice that asserts this core relationship—cannot both be true at the same time, with the idea that both being false is possible in some readings—best matches how contradiction works in this framework. The other described relationships (like contraries or subcontraries) face different restrictions, so they don’t fit this law as well.