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As in the title can you give a succint explanation that goes beyond definitions?

Edit: Here is what I understand of these so far.

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James P.
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  • proposition is an "overloaded" philosophical word; usually, it means a non-linguistic object, like the meaning of a sentence (the linguistic object).
    • – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Sep 09 '16 at 17:37
  • @MauroALLEGRANZA So a syllogism is a specific argument that has just the two premises? – James P. Sep 09 '16 at 17:41
  • @MauroALLEGRANZA So a proposition is "language-agnostic" or absolute with statements being linguistic such as The snow is white and La neige est blanche corresponding with the same proposition? – James P. Sep 09 '16 at 17:44
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    Yes; a syll is a three-sentences argument: two premises and one conclusion. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Sep 09 '16 at 17:46
  • Mortality is the predicate and the term Humanity is the subject Interesting. I wonder if this has been combined with ontological views. – James P. Sep 09 '16 at 17:46
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    I wouldn't necessarily treat these as overly technical terms. A premise is a claim that must hold true for an argument to work. Think of it like a foundation. A premise is often defined as an "assumption," and while some premises are assumptions, some are also argued for in their own right. The number of premises isn't necessarily two. A proposition, a statement, and an assertion are the same thing, depending on context. Are you dealing with philosophy of language? – Student Sep 09 '16 at 17:49
  • @Student Are you dealing with philosophy of language Not directly but I do wish to understand how arguments are constructed and be able to analyse them. – James P. Sep 09 '16 at 17:54
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    One kind of proposition well-know in logic is the categorical proposition that is the core of Aristotelian logic : "Every Human is Mortal", "Some Cats are Black". Their "logical form" is respectively: "Mortality belongs to all Men" where Mortality and Humanity are terms. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Sep 09 '16 at 18:04
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    For a clear introduction, you can see Ch.1 of Peter Smith, An Introduction to Formal Logic (2003). – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Sep 09 '16 at 19:41