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34-547: The term Down Under is a colloquialism differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand , or the Pacific island countries collectively. The term originally referred solely to Australia and gradually expanded in scope. It comes from the fact that Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere , “below” almost all other countries on the usual arrangement of a map or globe which places cardinal north at

68-525: A possible world and return a truth value. For example, the proposition that the sky is blue could be represented as a function f {\displaystyle f} such that f ( w ) = T {\displaystyle f(w)=T} for every world w , {\displaystyle w,} if any, where the sky is blue, and f ( v ) = F {\displaystyle f(v)=F} for every world v , {\displaystyle v,} if any, where it

102-461: A predicate of a subject , optionally with the help of a copula . An Aristotelian proposition may take the form of "All men are mortal" or "Socrates is a man." In the first example, the subject is "men", predicate is "mortal" and copula is "are", while in the second example, the subject is "Socrates", the predicate is "a man" and copula is "is". Often, propositions are related to closed formulae (or logical sentence) to distinguish them from what

136-476: A great deal of slang, but some contains no slang at all. Slang is often used in colloquial speech, but this particular register is restricted to particular in-groups, and it is not a necessary element of colloquialism. Other examples of colloquial usage in English include contractions or profanity . "Colloquial" should also be distinguished from "non-standard". The difference between standard and non-standard

170-783: A mental state of believing that it is raining, her mental content is the proposition 'it is raining.' Furthermore, since such mental states are about something (namely, propositions), they are said to be intentional mental states. Explaining the relation of propositions to the mind is especially difficult for non-mentalist views of propositions, such as those of the logical positivists and Russell described above, and Gottlob Frege 's view that propositions are Platonist entities, that is, existing in an abstract, non-physical realm. So some recent views of propositions have taken them to be mental. Although propositions cannot be particular thoughts since those are not shareable, they could be types of cognitive events or properties of thoughts (which could be

204-635: A name or term commonly used to identify a person or thing in non-specialist language, in place of another usually more formal or technical name. In the philosophy of language , "colloquial language" is ordinary natural language , as distinct from specialized forms used in logic or other areas of philosophy. In the field of logical atomism , meaning is evaluated in a different way than with more formal propositions . Colloquialisms are distinct from slang or jargon . Slang refers to words used only by specific social groups, such as demographics based on region, age, or socio-economic identity. In contrast, jargon

238-407: A new car ", or "I wonder whether it will snow " (or, whether it is the case that "it will snow"). Desire, belief, doubt, and so on, are thus called propositional attitudes when they take this sort of content. Bertrand Russell held that propositions were structured entities with objects and properties as constituents. One important difference between Ludwig Wittgenstein 's view (according to which

272-417: A proposition (e.g. 'it is raining,' 'snow is white,' etc.). In English, propositions usually follow folk psychological attitudes by a "that clause" (e.g. "Jane believes that it is raining"). In philosophy of mind and psychology , mental states are often taken to primarily consist in propositional attitudes. The propositions are usually said to be the "mental content" of the attitude. For example, if Jane has

306-418: A proposition are too vague to be useful. For them, it is just a misleading concept that should be removed from philosophy and semantics . W. V. Quine , who granted the existence of sets in mathematics, maintained that the indeterminacy of translation prevented any meaningful discussion of propositions, and that they should be discarded in favor of sentences. P. F. Strawson , on the other hand, advocated for

340-537: A proposition is the set of possible worlds /states of affairs in which it is true) is that on the Russellian account, two propositions that are true in all the same states of affairs can still be differentiated. For instance, the proposition "two plus two equals four" is distinct on a Russellian account from the proposition "three plus three equals six". If propositions are sets of possible worlds, however, then all mathematical truths (and all other necessary truths) are

374-414: A structured view of propositions, one can distinguish between singular propositions (also Russellian propositions , named after Bertrand Russell ) which are about a particular individual, general propositions , which are not about any particular individual, and particularized propositions , which are about a particular individual but do not contain that individual as a constituent. Attempts to provide

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408-591: A workable definition of proposition include the following: Two meaningful declarative sentences express the same proposition, if and only if they mean the same thing. which defines proposition in terms of synonymity. For example, "Snow is white" (in English) and "Schnee ist weiß" (in German) are different sentences, but they say the same thing, so they express the same proposition. Another definition of proposition is: Two meaningful declarative sentence-tokens express

442-408: Is a barrier to communication for those people unfamiliar with the respective field. Proposition A proposition is a central concept in the philosophy of language , semantics , logic , and related fields, often characterized as the primary bearer of truth or falsity . Propositions are also often characterized as the type of object that declarative sentences denote . For instance

476-530: Is a cycling race in and around Adelaide , South Australia , and since 2009 has been the inaugural event of the UCI World Tour Ranking calendar, which culminates in the Giro di Lombardia . Colloquialism A specific instance of such language is termed a colloquialism. The most common term used in dictionaries to label such an expression is colloquial . Colloquialism or general parlance

510-431: Is a philosopher” and “Plato is a philosopher” are different propositions. Similarly, “I am Spartacus” becomes “X is Spartacus”, where X is replaced with terms representing the individuals Spartacus and John Smith. In other words, the example problems can be averted if sentences are formulated with precision such that their terms have unambiguous meanings. A number of philosophers and linguists claim that all definitions of

544-425: Is distinct from formal speech or formal writing . It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious. An expression is labeled colloq. for "colloquial" in dictionaries when a different expression is preferred in formal usage, but this does not mean that the colloquial expression is necessarily slang or non-standard . Some colloquial language contains

578-414: Is expressed by an open formula . In this sense, propositions are "statements" that are truth-bearers . This conception of a proposition was supported by the philosophical school of logical positivism . Some philosophers argue that some (or all) kinds of speech or actions besides the declarative ones also have propositional content. For example, yes–no questions present propositions, being inquiries into

612-423: Is most commonly used within specific occupations, industries, activities, or areas of interest. Colloquial language includes slang, along with abbreviations, contractions, idioms, turns-of-phrase, and other informal words and phrases known to most native speakers of a language or dialect. Jargon is terminology that is explicitly defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. The term refers to

646-400: Is not necessarily connected to the difference between formal and colloquial. Formal, colloquial, and vulgar language are more a matter of stylistic variation and diction , rather than of the standard and non-standard dichotomy. The term "colloquial" is also equated with "non-standard" at times, in certain contexts and terminological conventions. A colloquial name or familiar name is

680-400: Is not. A proposition can be modeled equivalently with the inverse image of T {\displaystyle T} under the indicator function, which is sometimes called the characteristic set of the proposition. For instance, if w {\displaystyle w} and w ′ {\displaystyle w'} are the only worlds in which the sky is blue,

714-449: Is when identical sentences have the same truth-value, yet express different propositions. The sentence “I am a philosopher” could have been spoken by both Socrates and Plato. In both instances, the statement is true, but means something different. These problems are addressed in predicate logic by using a variable for the problematic term, so that “X is a philosopher” can have Socrates or Plato substituted for X, illustrating that “Socrates

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748-411: The truth value of them. On the other hand, some signs can be declarative assertions of propositions, without forming a sentence nor even being linguistic (e.g. traffic signs convey definite meaning which is either true or false). Propositions are also spoken of as the content of beliefs and similar intentional attitudes , such as desires, preferences, and hopes. For example, "I desire that I have

782-419: The language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Similar to slang, it is shorthand used to express ideas, people, and things that are frequently discussed between members of a group. Unlike slang, it is often developed deliberately. While a standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage amongst practitioners of relevant disciplines, it is often reported that jargon

816-413: The problem of ambiguity in common language, resulting in a mistaken equivalence of the statements. “I am Spartacus” spoken by Spartacus is the declaration that the individual speaking is called Spartacus and it is true. When spoken by John Smith, it is a declaration about a different speaker and it is false. The term “I” means different things, so “I am Spartacus” means different things. A related problem

850-423: The proposition that the sky is blue could be modeled as the set { w , w ′ } {\displaystyle \{w,w'\}} . Numerous refinements and alternative notions of proposition-hood have been proposed including inquisitive propositions and structured propositions . Propositions are called structured propositions if they have constituents, in some broad sense. Assuming

884-462: The same across different thinkers). Philosophical debates surrounding propositions as they relate to propositional attitudes have also recently centered on whether they are internal or external to the agent, or whether they are mind-dependent or mind-independent entities. For more, see the entry on internalism and externalism in philosophy of mind. In modern logic, propositions are standardly understood semantically as indicator functions that take

918-406: The same proposition, if and only if they mean the same thing. The above definitions can result in two identical sentences/sentence-tokens appearing to have the same meaning, and thus expressing the same proposition and yet having different truth-values, as in "I am Spartacus" said by Spartacus and said by John Smith, and "It is Wednesday" said on a Wednesday and on a Thursday. These examples reflect

952-585: The sentence "The sky is blue" denotes the proposition that the sky is blue. However, crucially, propositions are not themselves linguistic expressions . For instance, the English sentence "Snow is white" denotes the same proposition as the German sentence "Schnee ist weiß" even though the two sentences are not the same. Similarly, propositions can also be characterized as the objects of belief and other propositional attitudes . For instance if someone believes that

986-487: The sky is blue, the object of their belief is the proposition that the sky is blue. Formally, propositions are often modeled as functions which map a possible world to a truth value . For instance, the proposition that the sky is blue can be modeled as a function which would return the truth value T {\displaystyle T} if given the actual world as input, but would return F {\displaystyle F} if given some alternate world where

1020-432: The sky is green. However, a number of alternative formalizations have been proposed, notably the structured propositions view. Propositions have played a large role throughout the history of logic , linguistics , philosophy of language , and related disciplines. Some researchers have doubted whether a consistent definition of propositionhood is possible, David Lewis even remarking that "the conception we associate with

1054-686: The then Miss Australia Jennifer Hawkins was crowned as Miss Universe 2004 in Quito , Ecuador , she was called by the same nickname by host Billy Bush . According to American film critic Roger Ebert 's tongue-in-cheek Glossary of Movie Terms , the Down Under Rule : No film set in Australia is allowed to use the word Australia in its title where “Down Under” is an acceptable alternative. For example, we don't get The Rescuers in Australia or Quigley in Australia . The Tour Down Under

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1088-439: The top. The term has been in use since the late 19th century, and the persistence of the media use of the term has led to its wide acceptance and usage, especially in reference to Australia. The Men at Work song “ Down Under ” became a patriotic rallying song for Australians . The Russian-Australian boxing champion Kostya Tszyu was nicknamed “The Thunder from Down Under”, as is Australian snooker player Neil Robertson . When

1122-428: The use of the term " statement ". In Aristotelian logic a proposition was defined as a particular kind of sentence (a declarative sentence ) that affirms or denies a predicate of a subject , optionally with the help of a copula . Aristotelian propositions take forms like "All men are mortal" and "Socrates is a man." Aristotelian logic identifies a categorical proposition as a sentence which affirms or denies

1156-403: The word ‘proposition’ may be something of a jumble of conflicting desiderata". The term is often used broadly and has been used to refer to various related concepts. In relation to the mind, propositions are discussed primarily as they fit into propositional attitudes . Propositional attitudes are simply attitudes characteristic of folk psychology (belief, desire, etc.) that one can take toward

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