ABSTRACT
In discussing examples of argument we have hitherto used the word ‘statement5 to refer to what is stated by someone or other. This word is ambiguous for it may mean either what is stated or the verbal expression used by a speaker in stating something. The ambiguous word was deliberately used because we did not then wish to raise the question of dis tinguishing these two meanings. The word ‘proposition5 is frequently used for the former. A proposition is anything that can significantly be said to be true or false. A proposition stated in thought, in speech, or in writing, must be expressed in words or other symbols arranged in the sort of order which we recognize as constituting a sentence. A proposition must not be confused with a sentence; not all sentences express pro positions. When King Lear exclaims,
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all?
