Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.70 — Diogenes Laërtius on the Stoics
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.70
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on the Stoics
A denial contains a negative part or particle and a predication: such as this, “No one is walking.” A privative proposition is one that contains a privative particle reversing the effect of a judgement, as, for example, “This man is unkind.” An affirmative or assertory proposition is one that consists of a noun in the nominative case and a predicate, as “Dion is walking.” A definitive proposition is one that consists of a demonstrative in the nominative case and a predicate, as “This man is walking.” An indefinitive proposition is one that consists of an indefinite word or words and a predicate, e.g. “Some one is walking,” or “There’s some one walking”; “He is in motion.”
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.70 (on the Stoics), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.70
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book VII, tr. R. D. Hicks (Loeb, 1925). Text: Perseus Digital Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesDefines denial, privative, affirmative, definitive and indefinitive statements with simple examples like no one is walking and Dion is walking. Pure logic terminology with no practical advice.
Older wording
- “privative proposition”
- — a statement that reverses its meaning with a negative prefix
- “definitive proposition”
- — a statement about a specific pointed-to thing
- “indefinitive proposition”
- — a statement about an unspecified person or thing
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
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