If we know that ‘some utensils are not microwave-safe’ is true, it follows that
'some utensils are microwave-safe' may be also true
'no utensils are microwave-safe' must be true
'no utensils are microwave-safe' must be false
'if anything is a utensil, it must be microwave-safe' must be true
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2011
The premise ‘Some utensils are not microwave-safe’ is an ‘O’ proposition in categorical logic. The statement ‘Some utensils are microwave-safe’ is an ‘I’ proposition. According to the traditional square of opposition, ‘O’ and ‘I’ propositions are subcontraries, meaning they cannot both be false, but they can both be true. If the ‘O’ proposition (‘Some utensils are not microwave-safe’) is true, the ‘I’ proposition (‘Some utensils are microwave-safe’) is not necessarily true (e.g., if *all* utensils are not microwave-safe, then ‘some are not’ is true and ‘some are’ is false). However, the ‘I’ proposition is also not necessarily false; it is perfectly possible for some utensils to be microwave-safe while others are not. Therefore, the statement “‘some utensils are microwave-safe’ may be also true” accurately reflects this possibility which is consistent with the premise.