In philosophy and logic, the term proposition refers to either (a) the "content" or"meaning" of a meaningful declarative sentence or (b) the pattern of symbols, marks, or sounds that make up a meaningful declarative sentence. The meaning of a proposition includes having the quality or property of being either true or false, and as such propositions are claimed to be truthbearers.
The existence of propositions in sense (a) above, as well as the existence of "meanings," is disputed by some philosophers. Where the concept of a "meaning" is admitted, its nature is controversial. In earlier texts writers have not always made it sufficiently clear whether they are using the term proposition in sense of the words or the "meaning" expressed by the words. To avoid the controversies and ontological implications, the term sentence is often now used instead of proposition to refer to just those strings of symbols that are truthbearers, being either true or false under an interpretation. Strawson advocated the use of the term "statement," and some mathematicians have adopted this usage.
Read more about Proposition: Relation To The Mind, Treatment in Logic, Objections To Propositions, Related Concepts
Famous quotes containing the word proposition:
“The proposition that Muslims are welcome in Britain if, and only if, they stop behaving like Muslims is a doctrine which is incompatible with the principles that guide a free society.”
—Roy Hattersley (b. 1932)
“The perfect God in his revelations of himself has never got to the length of one such proposition as you, his prophets, state.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Whenever a man acts purposively, he acts under a belief in some experimental phenomenon. Consequently, the sum of the experimental phenomena that a proposition implies makes up its entire bearing upon human conduct.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)