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universe of discourse (Definition)

Boole (1854) defines universe of discourse in the following manner:

In every discourse, whether of the mind conversing with its own thoughts, or of the individual in his intercourse with others, there is an assumed or expressed limit within which the subjects of its operation are confined. $\ldots$ Now, whatever may be the extent of the field within which all the objects of our discourse are found, that field may properly be termed the universe of discourse. (Boole 1854/1958, p. 42).

References

  • Boole, George (1854/1958), An Investigation of the Laws of Thought on Which are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities, Macmillan Publishers, 1854. Reprinted with corrections, Dover Publications, New York, NY, 1958.

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"universe of discourse" is owned by Jon Awbrey.
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Cross-references: operation, the mind
There are 22 references to this entry.

This is version 4 of universe of discourse, born on 2008-03-14, modified 2008-05-12.
Object id is 10402, canonical name is UniverseOfDiscourse.
Accessed 1874 times total.

Classification:
AMS MSC03A05 (Mathematical logic and foundations :: Philosophical and critical)
 03B05 (Mathematical logic and foundations :: General logic :: Classical propositional logic)
 03B48 (Mathematical logic and foundations :: General logic :: Probability and inductive logic)
 03G05 (Mathematical logic and foundations :: Algebraic logic :: Boolean algebras)

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