Categorical Syllogism and

Hypothetical Syllogism

By:- Zafar ullah Siddiqui

Islamabad, Pakistan
 Syllogism
The word syllogism comes from the Greek
word syllogismos, which means “a conclusion” or
“inference.”
 Categorical Syllogism
A categorical syllogism is an argument consisting of
exactly three categorical propositions (two premises and a
conclusion) in which there appear a total of exactly
three categorical terms, each of which is used exactly twice.
A syllogism is a form of logical reasoning that joins two or
more premises to arrive at a conclusion.
For example: “All birds lay eggs. A swan is a bird.
Therefore, a swan lays eggs....” 
Syllogisms contain a major premise and a minor premise to
create the conclusion, i.e., a more general statement and a
more specific statement.
3 Ways to Understand Syllogism
 Types of Syllogism
There are three major types of syllogism:
Conditional Syllogism: If A is true then B is true (If A
then B).
Categorical Syllogism: If A is in C then B is in C.
Disjunctive Syllogism: If A is true, then B is false (A or
B).
 Hypothetical Syllogism
In classical logic, hypothetical syllogism is a valid
argument form which is a syllogism having a
conditional statement for one or both of its premises.
Example :
If I do not wake up, then I cannot go to work.
If I cannot go to work, then I will not get paid.
Therefore, if I do not wake up, then I will not get paid.
A hypothetical syllogism is a valid argument form
in logic.
 Conditional Syllogism
It is one whose major premise is
a conditional proposition and whose minor premise
and conclusion are categorical propositions.
It consists of the antecedent and the consequent for
the truth of the hypothetical judgment lies in the
truth of dependence between the two clauses
 Disjunctive Syllogism
In classical logic, disjunctive syllogism(historically
known as modus tollendo ponens (MTP),Latin for
"mode that affirms by denying") is a valid argument
form which is a syllogism having a disjunctive
statement for one of its premises.
For example, if someone is going to study law or
medicine, and does not study law, they will therefore
study medicine.
 Conjunctive Syllogism
The conjunctive syllogism is that which has a conjunctive
proposition for its major.
This proposition alleges an incompatibility between two
cases, one of which is affirmed in order to eliminate the other.
For Example:
You could not have been in Brussels and in Paris at the same
time.
You were in Brussels.
Therefore you could not have been in Paris. –
This syllogism may be reduced to the conditional type, and
follows the laws of that type.
 References
https://www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/logic-60.h
tm
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/syllo
gisms/syllogisms.htm