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A A a
B b - B b
SEOOND SET.
~ ~t 1 B ~~ I ~ ~
o C .0 Ceel.-.£. c
.T~e third and. fourth set6 exhibit, the corresponding com-
., .. '. ,.. " , ,0, , , '_ , , ,
blDa.:ti.o~of :t~ . letters ,A,' Be, D, ··a %. 0 'd and ABC
D, E, :Q, /J, C,fJ, lJ~<·'.. '
163
The slips are furnished with little pins, so that when
placed upon the ledges of the board, those marked by any
given letter may be readily picked out by means of a
straight-edged ruler, and removed to another ledge.
The use of the abacus will be best shown by an example.
Take, thesyllogiem in Ba,.hara:-
Man is mortal.
Socrates is man.
Therefore Socrates is mortal.
Let
A == Socrates.
B = Man.
e = Mortal.
The corresponding small italic letters then indicate the
negatives.
a = not-Socrates,
b -= not-Man,
c = not.-Mortal,
and the premises may be stated as
A is B,
B is C.
N ow take the second set of slips containing all the possible
combinations of A., B, C, a, iJ, c, and ascertain whi~b of
the combinations are possible under the conditions of the
premises.
Select all the slips marked- A, and as all these ought to be
B's, select again those which are not B, or h, and reject them.
Unite the Temainder, and selecting the B's, reject those which
are not C or c. There will now remain only four slips or com-
binations:
A
B
C
a
B
C
a
b
C [[
If we rf:quire the description' of Socrates, or A, \ve take
the only combination containing A, and observe that it is
164
joined with C, hence the Aristotelian conclusioll Socrates 'is
mortal. We may also get any othel' possible conclusion.
For instance the class of things not-Mall or b is seen from
the two last combinations to be always a or not-Socrates,
but either mOT·tal or not-mortal as the case may· be.
Precisely the same obvious system of analysis is applicable
to arguments ho,vever complicated. As an example take the
premises treated in Boole's Laws of. Thought, p. 1~5 .
( 1.) Similar figures consist of all whose corresponding
angles are equal, and whose corresponding sides are propor-
tional.
(2.) Triangles whose corresponding angles are equal have
their corresponding sides proportional, and 'Vice versa.
Let
A= similar.
B -= triangle.
C ::-: having corresponding angles equal.
D = having corresponding sides proportional.
The premises ma.y then be expressed in Qualitative
Logic,· as follows : -
A = CD.
Be = BD.
Take the set of 16 slips; out of the A's reject those which
are not CD; out of the· CD's reject those which are notA;
out of the B(~'s reject those which are not BD; and out
of the BD's reject t40se which ate not Be. There will
remain only six slips, as follows : -
A
B
C
A
o
b
a
B
c
tl
c
a
b
c
a
b
c
1> D d, d D d