Statement

Definition (Peter Caws)
Difference statement-sentence (Jennifer Trusted)
Difference statement-definition (Paul Davidson Reynolds)
Classification (Paul Davidson Reynolds)
Characteristics (Jennifer Trusted)
Relational statement (Paul Davidson Reynolds)
Relational statement (Gerald Runkle)
Deterministic-probabilistic statement (Paul Davidson Reynolds)
Normative-nonnormative statement (Vincent E. Barry and David J. Soccio)
Abstract statement (Paul Davidson Reynolds)
Statement and meaning (Abraham Kaplan)
Function of empirical statement (Jennifer Trusted)

Definition

[1965] Peter Caws, The Philosophy of Science
"A statement is, strictly speaking, the assertion of a proposition, and the vehicle for this assertion is of course the corresponding sentence." (p. 64)

Difference statement-sentence

[1987] Jennifer Trusted, Inquiry and Understanding
“Statements are a special sort of sentence, they are sentences in the indicative mood.” (Chapter 4, p. 38)
Examples
- statement: the cat is on the mat
- sentence but not statement: put the cat on the mat

Difference statement-definition

[1986] Paul Davidson Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction, First Edition 1971
“A definition describes the characteristics of a concept. An existence statement claims that the characteristics and, therefore, instances of the concept actually exist in the 'real world'. Definitions describe concepts; existence statements claim concepts exists.” (Chapter 4, p. 68)

Classification

[1986, First Edition 1971] Paul Davidson Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction
“Statements can be classified into two groups, those that claim the existence of phenomena referred to by a concept (existence statements) and those that describe a relationship between concepts (relational statements)." (Chapter 4, p. 67)

Characteristics

[1987] Jennifer Trusted, Inquiry and Understanding
“The feature common to all statements is that they can be asserted and, if they are asserted, then they have a truth value - that is they must either be true or false. If they are true they assert a fact”(Chapter 4, p. 38)

Relational statement

[1986, First Edition 1971] Paul Davidson Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction
“The heart of scientific knowledge is expressed in relational statements. Explanations, predictions and a sense of understanding depend on relational statements. Relational statements can be classified into two broad groups, those that describe an association between two concepts and those that describe a causal relation between two concepts.” (Chapter 4, p. 69)
“The nature of the association or correlation between two concepts may be considered of three types:
a) Positive: when one concept occurs, or is high, the other concept occurs, or is high, and vice versa (e.g. men are taller than women, and vice versa).
b) None: the occurrence of one concept gives no information about the occurrence of the other concept and vice versa (male and female students have about the same grades in sociology courses).
c) Negative: when one concept occurs, or is high, the other concept is low, and vice versa (e.g. low turnover in a work group is associated with high productivity)." (Chapter 4, p. 70)

[1981, Second Edition] Gerald Runkle, Good Thinking
Relational statements can be:
- Compatible. “Two statements are compatible if and only if it is logically possible for them both to be true at the same time.” “We do not have to check on facts or concern ourselves with truth to determine whether statements are compatible. We have merely to examine their structures.”
- Incompatible. “If two statements are not compatible, they are incompatible” i.e. it is “not logically possible for them both to be true at the same time.”
- Contradictories. Two contradictory statements cannot both be true or both be false at the same time. (All S are P - Some S are not P; no S are P - Some S are P).
- Contraries. Two contrary statements cannot both be true at the same time but can both be false at the same time. (All S are P - No S are P).
- Subcontraries. Two subcontrary statements can both be true at the same time but cannot both be false at the same time (Some S are P - Some S are not P). (from Chapter 4, p. 107)

Deterministic-probabilistic statement

[1986, First Edition 1971] Paul Davidson Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction
Deterministic Statement
“Under conditions C1, .... Cn, if X occurs, Y will occur. This type of relation is called “deterministic” because the dependent variable, Y, is determined by the independent variable, X.”
Probabilistic Statement
“Under conditions C1, ... Cn, if X occurs, Y will occur with probability P. Statements containing this type of relation are called probabilistic.” (Chapter 4, p. 7)
“... there is no reason to consider probabilistic statements less scientific than deterministic statements as long as the criterion of acceptance is utility in achieving the goals of science.” (Chapter 4, pp. 74-75)

Normative-nonnormative statement

[1988, Third Edition] Vincent E. Barry and David J. Soccio, Practical Logic
- “Normative statements are assertions that express value judgements.”
- “Nonnormative statements are true or false assertions used to express matters of empirical or logical fact.” (Chapter 17, pp. 404-405)

Abstract statement

[1986, First Edition 1971] Paul Davidson Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction
“... scientists do not consider abstract statements as either true or false. Empirical research affects the scientist’s degree of confidence in the usefulness of an abstract statement rather than causing a scientist to accept or reject a statement as ‘true’ or ‘false’.” (p. 116)
“... empirical research can never prove an abstract statement true...” “the results of empirical research in concrete settings affects the confidence a scientist has in the usefulness of an abstract statement for the purposes of explanation and prediction.” (p. 117)

Statement and meaning

[1964] Abraham Kaplan, The Conduct of Inquiry. Methodology for Behavioural Science, Chandler Publishing Company, Scranton, Pennsylvania
“... a statement’s meaning lies in the difference it makes.” (p. 43)
“A statement is meaningful if it can enter into the making of a decision, and its meaning is analysable in terms of the difference it makes to the decision taken.” (p. 43)

Function of empirical statement

[1987] Jennifer Trusted, Inquiry and Understanding
“Empirical statements have two functions: they embody and assert facts (or fictions) and they provide descriptions.” (Chapter 4, p. 39)

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