major premise
Logic's broader claim
The major premise is the first proposition in a syllogism—the one containing the broader principle from which a conclusion follows.
In "All humans are mortal; Socrates is human; therefore Socrates is mortal," the major premise is "All humans are mortal." It states the general rule that, combined with a specific case, yields the logical conclusion.
End or deduction
- middle termLink between syllogism's premises
- predicateSentence's non-subject portion
- subjectMatter under discussion
- categoricalUnconditional and explicit
universal · particular · affirmative · negative · deduction · Barbara · antecedent · consequent
Statement expressing a judgment
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
assertion · statement · generalization · conditional · foundation · basis · ground · principle
conclusion
End or deduction
- middle termLink between syllogism's premises
- predicateSentence's non-subject portion
- subjectMatter under discussion
categorical · universal · particular · affirmative · negative · deduction · Barbara · antecedent · consequent · validity
proposition
Statement expressing a judgment
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
hypothesis · assertion · statement · generalization · conditional · foundation · basis · ground · principle · presupposition
- logicconclusion, conclusions, inference, validity, syllogism
- AristotelianismAristotle, Aristotelianism, Lyceum, syllogism, Organon