194 THE SCIENCE OF LOGIC. 



93. PARTICULAR (OR INDEFINITE) PROPOSITIONS. The 

 Particular Proposition is one in which the predication is made about 

 an indefinite portion of the denotation of the subject. This in- 

 definiteness of reference is its essential characteristic. Its recog 

 nized logical sign is &quot;some,&quot; 1 and its usual symbolic expression 

 is &quot; Some 5 [or S s] is [are, not] P *. We must, however, make 

 clear the meaning traditionally attached in logic to the word 

 &quot; some &quot;. In ordinary language it means at least one ; in this 

 direction it is exclusive of &quot; none &quot;. But in the opposite direction 

 it does not quite so clearly exclude &quot;#//&quot;. As a rule, no doubt, 

 it does exclude &quot;all,&quot; meaning, therefore, &quot;some but not all&quot;. 

 We may even say that as a rule it excludes most, more than half, 

 the majority, and means a comparatively small number, the 

 minority, less than half : increasing portions above a compara 

 tively small number would be usually expressed, not by &quot;some&quot; 

 but by &quot; a good many,&quot; &quot;the majority,&quot; &quot;most&quot; &quot;nearly all&quot;. 

 Nevertheless, the fact remains that sometimes the word &quot;some&quot; 

 in ordinary speech is compatible with &quot;all&quot; meaning &quot;some, 

 perhaps all&quot;? Now logicians have found it convenient to fix 

 this latter meaning on &quot; some&quot; ; and in logic we must always, 

 therefore, interpret it unless the context clearly forbids us as 

 meaning &quot; some, possibly all&quot;. Used in this sense, it brings out 

 the indefiniteness of predication which is characteristic of the parti 

 cular proposition. The proposition &quot;Some S s are [not] P&quot; 

 merely assures us that the reference of the predication is to the 

 denotation of S : whether to one single S, or to all S s, or to 

 some number intermediate between one and all, it does not inform 

 us. 



The particular proposition, by asserting or denying some 

 thing about an indefinite portion of the denotation of a subject, 

 conveys of its very nature imperfect, incomplete knowledge : and 

 to express such knowledge is the particular function of the parti 

 cular proposition. In itself, the particular proposition is of no 

 great scientific importance, but as marking a stage in knowledge 

 it must not be neglected. It expresses judgments based on 

 observation and &quot; referring to individuals not enumerated, or to 



1 Less frequently, &quot; certain &quot; : &quot; Certain men were arrested on suspicion &quot;. 



2 The thought, whether or not it includes &quot; all,&quot; is often entirely absent from the 

 mind. For example, when I say &quot; Some friends of yours were in town yesterday,&quot; my 

 statement does not imply any knowledge on my part as to whether the &quot; some &quot; re 

 ferred to are or are not &quot; all &quot;. 



