On Interpratation   

Not-man is just Not-man is not just

/

- X

D." / C."

Not-man is not not-just Not-man is not-just



This is an exhaustive enumeration of all the pairs of opposite

propositions that can possibly be framed. This last group should

remain distinct from those which preceded it, since it employs as

its subject the expression 'not-man'.

When the verb 'is' does not fit the structure of the sentence (for

instance, when the verbs 'walks', 'enjoys health' are used), that

scheme applies, which applied when the word 'is' was added.

Thus we have the propositions: 'every man enjoys health', 'every man

does-not-enjoy-health', 'all that is not-man enjoys health', 'all that

is not-man does-not-enjoy-health'. We must not in these propositions

use the expression 'not every man'. The negative must be attached to

the word 'man', for the word 'every' does not give to the subject a

universal significance, but implies that, as a subject, it is

distributed. This is plain from the following pairs: 'man enjoys

health', 'man does not enjoy health'; 'not-man enjoys health', 'not

man does not enjoy health'. These propositions differ from the

former in being indefinite and not universal in character. Thus the

adjectives 'every' and no additional significance except that the

subject, whether in a positive or in a negative sentence, is

distributed. The rest of the sentence, therefore, will in each case be

the same.

Since the contrary of the proposition 'every animal is just' is

'no animal is just', it is plain that these two propositions will

never both be true at the same time or with reference to the same

subject. Sometimes, however, the contradictories of these contraries

will both be true, as in the instance before us: the propositions 'not