SBVR — Definition of 'proposition'

Doc: dtc/06-03-02
Date: March 2006
Version: Interim Convenience Document
Chapter: 8.1.2
Pages: 18
Nature: Editorial
Severity: minor

Description:

In 8.1.2, the definition of 'proposition' says:
"meaning that is asserted when a sentence is uttered or inscribed and which is true or false"

If the meaning is asserted when the sentence is uttered, the proposition is taken by the speaker to be true. Whether the meaning corresponds to the actual 'state of affairs' determines whether it is true or false, and even then not when the sentence is in the future tense. I think the intent here is: "meaning that is asserted by a sentence", full stop. Whether it is true, false, unknown, possible, etc., is irrelevant to the definition. And the time of the utterance ("WHEN it is uttered") is not intended to be important to the meaning of an arbitrary proposition.

The definition of 'question' in 8.1.3 uses the undefined term 'interrogatory', but is probably intended to be distinct from 'proposition'. This means that a proposition is not the meaning of an interrogative sentence, and therefore not of an arbitrary sentence, but only of a declarative sentence.

Recommendation:

In 8.1.2, replace the definition of 'proposition' with:
"meaning that is asserted by a declarative sentence"

For consistency, in 8.1.3 replace "interrogatory" with "interrogative sentence".

A proposition is a meaning; a sentence is an expression of a meaning. The same sentence, however, can express more than one meaning, e.g., when stated by different persons at different times, or in different contexts of reference. So it is important to separate the proposition from its expression, and not to define 'proposition' in terms of sentences.

In terms of kinds of meaning, a proposition is distinguished from a concept by having a characteristic that is a "truth value" - true or false. The referent of a proposition is a conceptual/potential state of affairs that may or may not be an actual state of affairs.

Issue 10621 deals with questions and their relationships to other kinds of meaning, including propositions.