There is mass, attraction apparently spontaneous, electrical and
magnetic properties which must be superadded to spatial configuration.
To cut the list short we must say that practically the phenomena of the
world present us problems involving many variables, which we must take
as independent.
From this it follows that in making poiographs we must be prepared
to use space of more than three dimensions. If the symmetry and
completeness of our representation is to be of use to us we must be
prepared to appreciate and criticise figures of a complexity greater
than of those in three dimensions. It is impossible to give an example
of such a poiograph which will not be merely trivial, without going
into details of some kind irrelevant to our subject. I prefer to
introduce the irrelevant details rather than treat this part of the
subject perfunctorily.
To take an instance of a poiograph which does not lead us into the
complexities incident on its application in classificatory science,
let us follow Mrs. Alicia Boole Stott in her representation of the
syllogism by its means. She will be interested to find that the curious
gap she detected has a significance.
A syllogism consists of two statements, the major and the minor
premiss, with the conclusion that can be drawn from them. Thus, to take
an instance, fig. 49. It is evident, from looking at the successive
figures that, if we know that the region M lies altogether within the
region P, and also know that the region S lies altogether within the
region M, we can conclude that the region S lies altogether within
the region P. M is P, major premiss; S is M, minor premiss; S is P,
conclusion. Given the first two data we must conclude that S lies
in P. The conclusion S is P involves two terms, S and P, which are
respectively called the subject and the predicate, the letters S and
P being chosen with reference to the parts the notions they designate
play in the conclusion. S is the subject of the conclusion, P is the
predicate of the conclusion. The major premiss we take to be, that
which does not involve S, and here we always write it first.
[Illustration: Fig. 49.]
There are several varieties of statement possessing different degrees
of universality and manners of assertiveness. These different forms of
statement are called the moods.
We will take the major premiss as one variable, as a thing capable of
different modifications of the same kind, the minor premiss as another,
and the different moods we will consider as defining the variations
which these variables undergo.
There are four moods:—
1. The universal affirmative; all M is P, called mood A.
2. The universal negative; no M is P, mood E.
3. The particular affirmative; some M is P, mood I.
4. The particular negative; some M is not P, mood O.
[Illustration: 1. 2. 3. 4. Mood A. Mood E. Mood I. Mood O.
Fig. 50.]
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