LessonsExceptive Syllogism: Valid Inferences from Connected and Disjunctive ConditionalsQuiz

Valid: The number is at least 5 or at most 5; it is not at least 5; therefore it is at most 5.

Invalid: The number is at least 5 or at most 5; it is at least 5; therefore it is not at most 5.

The number 5 is a counterexample: it is both at least 5 and at most 5.

What this kind of disjunction guarantees is that both cannot be denied. That is why denial of one yields affirmation of the other.

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Excluding emptiness: valid versus invalid

Exceptive Syllogism: Valid Inferences from Connected and Disjunctive Conditionals

Valid: The number is at least 5 or at most 5; it is not at least 5; therefore it is at most 5.

Invalid: The number is at least 5 or at most 5; it is at least 5; therefore it is not at most 5.

The number 5 is a counterexample: it is both at least 5 and at most 5.

What this kind of disjunction guarantees is that both cannot be denied. That is why denial of one yields affirmation of the other.