Statement (logic)
In logic and semantics, the term statement is variously understood to mean either:
- a meaningful declarative sentence that is true or false, or
- a proposition. Which is the assertion that is made by (i.e., the meaning of) a true or false declarative sentence.
In the latter case, a statement is distinct from a sentence in that a sentence is only one formulation of a statement, whereas there may be many other formulations expressing the same statement.
By a statement, it is meant "that which one states", not one's stating of it. There are many interpretations of what the term statement means, but generally, it indicates either: a meaningful declarative sentence that is either true or false (bivalence), or: a proposition. A proposition is an assertion that is made by (i.e., the meaning of) a true or false declarative sentence. A proposition is what a statement means, it is the notion or idea that a statement expresses, i.e., what it represents. It could be said that "2 + 2 = 4" and "two plus two equals four" are two different statements that are expressing the same proposition in two different ways.