major premise
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈmeɪdʒər ˈprɛmɪs/
- Specialized
:
premisa mayor
- Both the audit and quality perspectives have as a major premise the use of feedback to improve the process, which in turn affects the results (student learning).
- one major premise
There's what is called the major premise, which Aristotle says deals with things that are universal or general.
- There's what is called the major premise, which Aristotle says deals with things that are universal or general.
Examples
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A syllogism is a deductive argument consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion derived from the premises.
Academic text (1997) -
There's what is called the major premise, which Aristotle says deals with things that are universal or general.
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I will defend the major premise using four tools.
Academic text (2016) -
As Williams points out, we use the classical syllogism but rarely: our major premises.
Academic text (2001) -
Strictly speaking, we cannot guarantee the major premise without examining all of its instances.
Academic text (2001) -
So stated, however, this major premise contains two ambiguities, one of which can be put aside, but the other of which is critical to clarify.
Academic text (2017) -
In this exercise, the major premise is that citizens should retain whatever will deter potential murderers.
Academic text (2002) -
The conclusion, as in the traditional syllogism, is always categorical, but the strength of the argument varies with the proportion cited in the major premise.
Academic text (2001) -
The author incorporates data from a national survey of gifted children to support his major premise: that problems of gifted boys can be differentiated thematically in terms of cultural conditioning, sexuality, success orientation, and ego development.
Academic text (1991) -
A syllogism typically consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion that follows logically from them.
Synonyms
A statement in a logical argument that contains the conclusion's main term
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'major' means main/important and 'premise' means a statement accepted as a basis for an argument, so learners will infer 'the main or most important premise.' Although it has a narrower technical role in syllogistic logic, that specialized sense aligns with the compositional meaning and does not block comprehension for a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Major premise comes from old logic where people used two statements and then a conclusion. The word major means the larger, general statement and premise is a statement given before the conclusion, so the major premise is the 'main rule' that supports the final conclusion.