Mathematical Logic
Mathematical Logic
Mathematical Logic
To understand why this table is the way it is, consider the following example:
"If you get an A, then I'll give you a dollar."
The statement will be true if I keep my promise and false if I don't.
Suppose it's true that you get an A and it's true that I give you a dollar. Since I kept my
promise, the implication is it true. This corresponds to the first line in the table.
Suppose it's true that you get an A but it's false that I give you a dollar. Since I didn't keep my
promise, the implication is false. This corresponds to the second line in the table.
What if it's false that you get an A? Whether or not I give you a dollar, I haven't broken my
promise. Thus, the implication can't be false, so (since this is a two-valued logic) it must be
true. This explains the last two lines of the table.
Means that P and Q are equivalent. So the double implication is true if P and Q are
both true or if P and Q are both false; otherwise, the double implication is false.
You should remember or be able to construct the truth tables for the logical connectives.
You'll use these tables to construct tables for more complicated sentences. It's easier to
demonstrate what to do than to describe it in words, so you'll see the procedure worked out in
the examples.
Remarks. 1. When you're constructing a truth table, you have to consider all possible
assignments of True (T) and False (F) to the component statements. For example, suppose the
component statements are P, Q, and R. Each of these statements can be either true or false, so
there are
possibilities.
When you're listing the possibilities, you should assign truth values to the component
statements in a systematic way to avoid duplication or omission. The easiest approach is to
use lexicographic ordering. Thus, for a compound statement with three components P, Q, and
R, I would list the possibilities this way:
is a tautology.
The last column contains only T's. Therefore, the formula is a tautology.
Example. Construct a truth table for
Example. Suppose
"
" is true.
"
" is false.
Q="
".
".
and
When a tautology has the form of a bi conditional, the two statements which make up the bi
conditional are logically equivalent. Hence, you can replace one side with the other without
changing the logical meaning.
Example. Write down the negation of the following statements, simplifying so that only
simple statements are negated.
(a)
I showed that
and
The result is "Phoebe buys the pizza and Calvin doesn't buy popcorn".
is rational."
Example. Show that the inverse and the converse of a conditional are logically equivalent.
Let
. The converse is
I could show that the inverse and converse are equivalent by constructing a truth table for
. I'll use some known tautologies instead.
Start with
Remember that I can replace a statement with one that is logically equivalent. For example,
in the last step I replaced
with Q, because the two statements are equivalent by
Double negation.
"If
, then
."
Construct the converse, the inverse, and the contrapositive. Determine the truth or falsity of
the four statements --- the original statement, the converse, the inverse, and the contrapositive
--- using your knowledge of algebra.
The converse is "If
The inverse is "If
, then
, then
".
".
, then
".
1.8 Transalation
Example. Use De Morgan's Law to write the negation of the following statement, simplifying
so that only simple statements are negated:
"Calvin is not home or Bonzo is at the movies."
Let C be the statement "Calvin is home" and let B be the statement "Bonzo is at the moves".
The given statement is
. I'm supposed to negate the statement, then simplify:
with
The result is "Phoebe buys the pizza and Calvin doesn't buy popcorn".
1.9 Argument
Example : Consider the following argument about Peter, who is a student in a logic
course.
Premise: If Peter has the ability and works hard, then Peter will be successful in the course.
Conclusion: Therefore, if Peter is not successful in the course, then Peter does not have the
ability or Peter does not work hard.
9|quantitative method chapter 1
10 | q u a n t i t a t i v e m e t h o d c h a p t e r 1