Learn syllogisms the easy way: A few tips and tricks

The concept of syllogism mainly consists of verbal reasoning type problems and is often asked in many competitive examinations. Hence, if you are serious about your professional career, in particular, you should never ignore this concept in any way whatsoever.

In this article, we will take a close peek at the different ways of solving syllogisms in the best possible manner. So let’s begin without further ado.

Syllogism: A brief overview

A syllogism is a sort of logical argument that applies a whole lot of deductive reasoning to arrive at an inference based on 2 or more propositions that are assumed or asserted to be true.

Here’s an example for your reference:

Given statements:

1. All men are mortal.

2. I am a man.

So what will be the syllogistic conclusion? “I am mortal,” as simple as that.

Solving syllogism problems in competitive exams

The best way to solve syllogisms is through Venn diagrams. We will use a few examples for the sake of our explanation for easier comprehensibility. So pay attention as closely as possible.

Note: Do not look for logic in the “statements” provided in the problems below. If we say “all dogs are cats,” you have to accept that on the basis of the problem. Your conclusions should also have a direct or indirect connection to ONLY the statements provided in the problems below (no matter whether the statements are logical or not). If there’s zero connection, you will get zero marks.

PROBLEM 1:

STATEMENTS:

• All Dogs are cats.

• All cats are bulls.

CONCLUSIONS:

• Some dogs are not bulls.

• Some bulls are dogs.

• All bulls are dogs.

• All dogs are bulls.

According to the problem above, you will have to find out the conclusion(s) [among the list of conclusions provided above] that flows naturally with the logic of the statements.

Note: It’s not that only one conclusion is correct of the lot. Two, three, or more can be correct depending on the circumstances. You need to find out all the correct ones accordingly.

SOLUTION

1. Ignore the conclusions and concentrate solely on the statements.

2. Draw a Venn diagram on the basis of the two statements depicted above.

      3. From the Venn diagram depicted above, we can clearly say that:

Conclusion 1 is NOT logically sustainable in any way whatsoever.

Conclusion 2 IS LOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE.

Conclusion 3 is NOT logically sustainable.

Conclusion 4 IS LOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE.

PROBLEM 2:

STATEMENTS:

• All locks are keys.

• All keys are dogs.

• Some watches are dogs.

CONCLUSIONS:

• Some dogs are locks.

• Some watches are keys.

• All the keys are locks.

So which conclusions among the lot are logically feasible enough?

Your options are [Only one among the following options is correct; choose one]:

1. Only (1) and (2)

2. Only (1)

3. Only (2)

4. Only (1) and (3)

SOLUTION

1. Ignore the conclusions and concentrate solely on the statements.

2. Draw Venn diagram on the basis of the two statements depicted above.

According to the statements, provided above, three Venn diagrams look feasible since there’s no real clarity about the dogs.

So here you go.

3. From the Venn diagrams depicted above, we can clearly say that:

Option 1 is NOT logically feasible.
Option 2 is LOGICALLY FEASIBLE.
Option 3 is NOT logically feasible.
Option 4 is NOT logically feasible.

Thumb rules to be observed for doing syllogisms

• Go through the given statements one by one. Ignore the conclusions while you are doing the very same thing.

• Think how you can use the given statements for drawing your Venn diagrams. Remember, correct syllogism solutions are almost wholly based on Venn diagrams, in particular. So in case, you are not too comfortable with Venn diagrams, in particular, get back to the basics of set theory (in Mathematics) ASAP.

• And lastly, don’t try to do too much within a short amount of time. Go one by one. Understand each statement and then move over to the next one. A simple practice like this can make all the differences in the world for good.

• After drawing the Venn diagram(s), move over to the given conclusions. Compare each and every conclusion with the Venn diagram(s), in particular, to find out the logically feasible ones in a jiffy.

Always remember that an organizational approach is the key to an effective syllogism solution. So make sure you don’t divert from that in any way whatsoever. With that, we’ll bring this article to an end for now. Hope you had a great read.