Given that all women are mortal, and suppose that A is a woman, what can we conclude about A?
We can conclude that A is mortal.
Explanation
The provided context explicitly uses this scenario to illustrate deductive reasoning and proof by contradiction. The text states that if we assume the statement 'A is mortal' is not true, it leads to a contradiction because it negates the given premise 'All women are mortal'. Therefore, the assumption must be wrong, and the conclusion holds true. Additionally, the context lists this specific question in Exercise A1.2, and the surrounding text confirms the conclusion that 'A is mortal'.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the given hypothesis (premise): All women are mortal.
Step 2: Identify the specific condition: A is a woman.
Step 3: Apply the general premise to the specific condition using deductive reasoning.
Step 4: Conclude that since A is a woman, A is mortal.