An introductory text-book of logic - Mellone, Sydney - Rare Books at ...

28 THE NAME, THE TERM, THE CONCEPT,
in two ways. We might, through increase of knowledge,
expand the connotation of a term without decreasing
its denotation ; and we might find new individuals
to which the term is applicable without decreasing
does not
the connotation e.g., increase of population
of man. But the rule was
change the meaning
never meant to apply to what happens to a single
term through increasing knowledge or increasing num
ber of individuals.
The best illustrations of the law are found in the
sciences of classification. Thus, the adequate defini
tions of Dicotyledon, Thalamiflorcc, Ranunculacecz, Ran
unculus, Ranunculus ficaria form an increasing series ;
the applicability of these terms is a diminishing series.
The older logicians were fond of the following illustra
tion, which has therefore acquired a certain historic
importance :
Connotation least, denotation highest.
Beings
(i.e., anything existing, beings in general)
material beings
(i.e., matter in the widest sense)
organic material beings
(i.e., the whole world of life, animal and vegetable)
Sentient organic material beings
(i.e., animals)
Rational sentient organic material beings
(i.e., men)
This Man.
Connotation highest, denotation least.
In this case each term is predicable of the following