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Philosophy vocabulary · Logic and Argument

Premise

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

/ˈpremɪs/nounCore term

In philosophy, premise means: A statement that is given as a reason in an argument and from which the conclusion is supposed to follow.

In Turkish: öncül

How it is used

Philosophers number premises (P1, P2) when they set out an argument and then ask which one to deny. Typical verbs: accept, grant, deny, reject or defend a premise. A premise that is not stated openly is a hidden or suppressed premise.

Example sentences

  1. I accept the first premise, but the second one seems false to me.

  2. The argument relies on a hidden premise about what counts as harm.

Common collocations

  • first premise
  • deny a premise
  • hidden premise
  • major premise
  • grant the premise
  • argumentA set of statements in which some of them, the premises, are offered as reasons for accepting another one, the conclusion.
  • conclusionThe statement that an argument tries to establish, supported by the premises that lead up to it.
  • validDescribes an argument whose form guarantees that if all the premises are true, the conclusion must be true as well.
  • syllogismAn argument with two premises and a conclusion, each linking two categories, such as 'All humans are mortal; Socrates is human; so Socrates is mortal'.

More terms: Logic and Argument

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