ОБРАТНОГО ОТНОШЕНИЯ ЗАКОН

Inverse Relation, Law of

A law of formal logic fixing the dependence between the volume and content of concepts which are in a stable generic-specific coordination (see Genus and Species). It is formulated as follows: the content of the subordinating (generic) concept is part of the content of the subordinate (specific) concept, while the volume of the subordinate concept enters as part of the volume of the subordinating concept (another formulation is: the broader the volume of the concept, the narrower its content, and vice versa).

For example, in the case of the concepts "triangle" and "isosceles triangle", the essential properties (content) of the first concept enter into, but do not exhaust, the essential properties (content) of the second concept; on the other hand, the objects encompassed by the second concept (its volume) are only part of the objects encompassed by the first concept (volume). The processes of generalization and limitation, which lead to the formation of generic and specific concepts respectively, take place according to the Law of Inverse Relation.