All pens are boxes. All boxes are bags. So are all pens bags? A syllogism gives you statements and asks whether a conclusion must be true. Take the statements as true, even if they sound silly, and draw circles.
Try to break it — “a conclusion follows only if every diagram that fits the statements makes it true”
Draw a circle for each word. “All A are B”: A inside B. “No A are B”: apart. “Some A are B”: overlapping.
Try to draw the circles so the conclusion is false while every statement stays true.
If you cannot, the conclusion follows (Yes). If you can, it does not definitely follow (No).
Use it for: Syllogism questions in aptitude, scholarship and Olympiad tests, and checking arguments in debates.
Worked example: Statements: All pens are boxes. All boxes are bags. Conclusion: All pens are bags. Does the conclusion definitely follow from the statements? Yes
The pen circle sits inside the box circle, which sits inside the bag circle.
You cannot draw a pen outside the bags without breaking a statement, so it follows.
Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.
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🏁 Lesson 21 test
20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.
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