10 Questions
Which type of declarative focuses on statements about right or wrong, good or bad?
Moral value judgments
What is the main characteristic of declaratives that gives them 'truth-value'?
They convey factual information
Which type of declarative includes statements that define concepts, objects, or terms?
Definition statements
What is the main difference between sentences and statements?
Sentences are grammatical structures, statements convey information
Which of the following is NOT a type of declarative as mentioned in the text?
Emotive expression
What is the purpose of distinguishing a declarative from an imperative or an interrogative?
To understand different types of statements
'Say what you mean and mean what you say' emphasizes the importance of:
Being honest and clear in communication
'Out of the abundance of the heart (mind), the mouth speaks' suggests that:
Words reflect our inner thoughts and beliefs
'Recognizing sentence fragment and emotive expression' is important for understanding:
'Implicit and explicit meanings' of expressions
'Why should I trust what you are saying now if you did not mean what you said earlier?' illustrates the concept of:
'Infinite regress'
Study Notes
Declaratives and Statements
- A statement can be either factually true or false, and its truth or falsity depends on the object itself, not on the subject's viewpoint.
- There are 22 types of declaratives, including value judgments and definitions.
Value Judgments
- Value judgments inform by subjectively prescribing or evaluating how something or someone should or ought to be.
- They do not state facts about the object but rather express the viewpoint of the subject.
- Examples of value judgments: "That bachelor has a good conscience", "Ama is a beautiful girl", "The president is more corrupt than his opponent".
- Value judgments come in two forms: moral value judgments (e.g. "Abortion is evil") and non-moral value judgments (e.g. "He is a good boxer").
Definitions
- A definition is a sentence that informs by giving meaning to a word.
- Definitions can be either true or false, depending on the correctness of the meaning.
- Examples of definitions: "A bachelor is an unmarried man", "Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma".
- A definition has two parts: the definiendum (the word being defined) and the definiens (the part of the definition that gives the meaning).
Sentences and Statements
- A sentence is a collection of words with a complete thought or meaning.
- A statement is a type of sentence that can be either true or false.
- Not all sentences are statements; sentences can also be questions or commands.
- Examples of sentences that are statements: "Nana is a graduate", "That is the Vice Chancellor".
- Examples of sentences that are not statements: "Sit up!", "Why are you crying?"
Objectives
- At the end of Unit 1, the student will be able to:
- Distinguish a declarative from an imperative and an interrogative
- Recognize sentence fragments and emotive expressions
- Understand why declaratives alone have 'truth-value'
- Identify the three types of declaratives (statements): factual statements, value judgments, and definitions
- Distinguish between sentences and statements
- Understand implicit and explicit meanings of expressions
Test your knowledge on the 22 types of declaratives and value judgments. Understand the differences between factually true statements and value judgments which are subjective evaluations of how something ought to be.
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