Mediate Inference

In the foregoing account of mediate inference with singular middle terms the premises were all such as expressed relations of identity and difference. But some of the results arrived at are applicable also to all other transitive relations. In the foregoing illustration the middle term is singular, and the relation between the terms is that of identity. When that is the case mediate inference is easy and obvious. Besides transitive relations there are also certain other relations which frequently occur in mediate inference. In the case of mediate inference involving transitive relations what usually happens is that the premises attest that the major term and the minor term are each related in the same kind of way to the same middle term. And the conclusion states that the same relationship therefore holds good between the major and minor terms themselves.