Basics
This is a particular kind of sentence that brings a message that can be said to be either true or false.
What is a statement
The round square sweetly kicked the green yesterday.
This is a statement. True or false
False. This is nonsense. Nonsense cannot be a statement.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
True statement
This is a statement by a person concerning his or her own desires, beliefs, or feelings.
Self-reports
The snow is deep
supported (through experience)
The apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians.
Statement (with truth value)
This statement is a statement whose truth value can be determined from the statement itself.
Self-supporting
The Earth is flat.
False statement
This statement is true or false by definition
self-contradiction
I think Lord of the Rings is a well-crafted story.
self-report
THe apostle Paul wrote the book of Isaiah.
Statement (with a false truth value.)
This statement is always true because of its logical structure
*logical structure relates to the context of the sentence, not the grammar
tautology
Who wrote the book of Genesis?
Question
This type of statement is one whose truth value depends on evidence or information from outside itself.
supported statement
Frodo is a Hobbit and he isn't.
self-contradiction
If a sentence has no truth value, it is still a statement.
True or false
False.
If a sentence has no truth value, then it is not a statement at all.
Which class is the best?
8th grade
The pigy bowl did muve and mote.
nonsense
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!
When seeking information before declaring the truth or non-truth of a statement, what are the three things we must look to?
authority
experience / observation
deduction
Jesus is God, or He is not God
tautology
A question can be a truth value.
True or false.
False.
A question has no truth value. It is neither true nor false, so it is not a statement.
A command is a statement.
True or false
False. A command cannot be a statement because it has no truth value.
Believe the good news.
Command
Supported statements require a person to collect information in order to determine their truth value.
True / False
True
False by definition