Syllogism Some–Some Case – UGC NET Question

The statements tell us that there is an overlap between teachers and researchers and an overlap between researchers and writers. However, we are not told whether the same individuals who are teachers and researchers are also among the researchers who are writers. Therefore, we cannot be certain that any teacher is a writer, only that it is possible. The safest conclusion is that some teachers may be writers, expressing possibility rather than certainty.

Option A:
Option A, “Some teachers are writers,” asserts an actual overlap between teachers and writers, which is not guaranteed by the premises. The overlapping researchers may involve disjoint subsets in each case.

Option B:
Option B, “Some writers are teachers,” states the same kind of definite overlap but from the perspective of writers, which again goes beyond what is necessarily given in the premises.

Option C:
Option C cautiously says “Some teachers may be writers,” expressing possibility without asserting existence. This aligns with what the overlapping relations allow without overstating what must be true.

Option D:
Option D, “All teachers are writers,” is even stronger and clearly not supported by the limited overlap information.