ABSTRACT
In a statement like 'some Greek is wise' the term 'wise' is tied to the term 'Greek' in the subject 'some Greek'. In a statement like 'some Greek is wiser than every Barbarian' we have two subjects, 'some Greek' and 'every Barbarian'; the term 'wiser' is therefore tied to the two subject terms 'Greek' and 'Barbarian'. A term that is tied to one subject term is called monadic. Terms tied to two subject terms are called dyadic, or two place, terms. Dyadic terms are 'relational'. For example, in 'Tom is taller than Nancy' and 'Nancy is wiser than Tom' the terms 'taller (than)' and 'wiser (than)' are relational terms. Terms that relationally tie three subject tenns are called triadic. For example, in 'some sailor is giving every child a toy' the term 'giving' is triadic, or three place, tying three subject terms: 'sailor', child' and toy'. Statements containing transitive verbs like 'kisses' or 'gives' or relational terms like 'taller than' are called relational statements. Note that the transitive verb 'kisses' is implicitly relational: 'Tom kisses Nancy' amounts to 'Tom is a kisser of Nancy' which contains the dyadic relational term 'kisser of. For further discussion, including how to transcribe relational statements algebraically, the reader is advised to review sections 8 to 15 of Chapter 4 above.
