All Topics  
Propositional calculus

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Propositional calculus



 
 
In logic
Logic

Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and inference. Logic is a branch of philosophy, a part of the classical Trivium . The word derives from Greek language ?????? , fem....
 and mathematics
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
, a propositional calculus or logic (also a sentential calculus) is a formal system
Formal system

In logic, a formal system consists of a formal language together with a deductive system which consists of a set of inference rules and/or axioms....
 in which formulae representing proposition
Propositional formula

In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic Formula which is well formed formula and has a truth value. If the values of all variables in a propositional formula are given, it determines a unique truth value....
s
can be formed by combining atomic
Atomic formula

In mathematical logic, an atomic formula is a formula with no deeper propositional structure, that is, a formula that contains no logical connectives or equivalently a formula that has no strict subformulas....
 propositions using logical connective
Logical connective

In logic, two sentences may be joined by means of a logical connective to form a compound sentence. The truth-value of the compound is uniquely determined by the truth-values of the simpler sentences....
s
, and a system of formal proof rules allows certain formulæ to be established as "theorems
Theorem

In mathematics, a theorem is a statement Mathematical proof on the basis of previously accepted or established statements such as axioms.In formal mathematical logic, the concept of a theorem may be taken to mean a formula that can be formal proof according to the deductive system of a fixed formal system....
".

In logic and philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
, propositional calculus is often intended to symbolize rational deduction
Deduction

Deduction can refer to one of the following usages: lower price on something* Deductive reasoning, inference in which the conclusion is of no greater generality than the premises...
.

eneral terms, a calculus is a formal system
Formal system

In logic, a formal system consists of a formal language together with a deductive system which consists of a set of inference rules and/or axioms....
 that consists of a set of syntactic expressions (well-formed formulæ or wffs), a distinguished subset of these expressions (axioms), plus a set of formal rules that define a specific binary relation
Binary relation

In mathematics, a binary relation is an arbitrary association of elements within a set or with elements of another set.An example is the "divides" relation between the set of prime numbers P and the set of integers Z, in which every prime p is associated with every integer z that is a divisibility of p, and no othe...
, intended to be interpreted as logical equivalence
Logical equivalence

In logic, statements p and q are logically equivalent if they have the same logical content.Syntax , p and q are equivalent if each can be proof from the other....
, on the space of expressions.

When the formal system is intended to be a logical system, the expressions are meant to be interpreted as statements, and the rules, known as inference rules, are typically intended to be truth-preserving.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Propositional calculus'
Start a new discussion about 'Propositional calculus'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In logic
Logic

Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and inference. Logic is a branch of philosophy, a part of the classical Trivium . The word derives from Greek language ?????? , fem....
 and mathematics
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
, a propositional calculus or logic (also a sentential calculus) is a formal system
Formal system

In logic, a formal system consists of a formal language together with a deductive system which consists of a set of inference rules and/or axioms....
 in which formulae representing proposition
Propositional formula

In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic Formula which is well formed formula and has a truth value. If the values of all variables in a propositional formula are given, it determines a unique truth value....
s
can be formed by combining atomic
Atomic formula

In mathematical logic, an atomic formula is a formula with no deeper propositional structure, that is, a formula that contains no logical connectives or equivalently a formula that has no strict subformulas....
 propositions using logical connective
Logical connective

In logic, two sentences may be joined by means of a logical connective to form a compound sentence. The truth-value of the compound is uniquely determined by the truth-values of the simpler sentences....
s
, and a system of formal proof rules allows certain formulæ to be established as "theorems
Theorem

In mathematics, a theorem is a statement Mathematical proof on the basis of previously accepted or established statements such as axioms.In formal mathematical logic, the concept of a theorem may be taken to mean a formula that can be formal proof according to the deductive system of a fixed formal system....
".

In logic and philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
, propositional calculus is often intended to symbolize rational deduction
Deduction

Deduction can refer to one of the following usages: lower price on something* Deductive reasoning, inference in which the conclusion is of no greater generality than the premises...
.

Terminology

In general terms, a calculus is a formal system
Formal system

In logic, a formal system consists of a formal language together with a deductive system which consists of a set of inference rules and/or axioms....
 that consists of a set of syntactic expressions (well-formed formulæ or wffs), a distinguished subset of these expressions (axioms), plus a set of formal rules that define a specific binary relation
Binary relation

In mathematics, a binary relation is an arbitrary association of elements within a set or with elements of another set.An example is the "divides" relation between the set of prime numbers P and the set of integers Z, in which every prime p is associated with every integer z that is a divisibility of p, and no othe...
, intended to be interpreted as logical equivalence
Logical equivalence

In logic, statements p and q are logically equivalent if they have the same logical content.Syntax , p and q are equivalent if each can be proof from the other....
, on the space of expressions.

When the formal system is intended to be a logical system, the expressions are meant to be interpreted as statements, and the rules, known as inference rules, are typically intended to be truth-preserving. In this setting, the rules (which may include axioms) can then be used to derive ("infer") formulæ representing true statements from given formulæ representing true statements.

The set of axioms may be empty, a nonempty finite set, a countably infinite set, or be given by axiom schemata. A formal grammar
Formal grammar

In formal language theory, grammars, also called formal grammars or generative grammars, are a formalism used to describe formal languages – i.e....
 recursively defines the expressions and well-formed formulæ (wffs) of the language
Formal language

A formal language is a set of words, i.e. finite string of letters, or symbols. The inventory from which these letters are taken is called the alphabet over which the language is defined....
. In addition a semantics
Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. The word is derived from the Greek language word s??a?t???? , "significant", from s??a??? , "to signify, to indicate" and that from s??a , "sign, mark, token"....
 may be given which defines truth and valuation
Valuation (mathematics)

In algebra , a valuation is a Function on a Field that provides a measure of size or multiplicity of elements of the field. They generalize to commutative algebra the notion of size inherent in consideration of the degree of a pole or Multiplicity of a zero in complex analysis, the degree divisibility of a number by a prime number in num...
s (or interpretation
Interpretation (logic)

In logic an interpretation gives meaning to an artificial or formal language or to a Sentence of such a language by assigning a denotation to each non-logical symbol in that language or in that sentence....
s).

The language
Formal language

A formal language is a set of words, i.e. finite string of letters, or symbols. The inventory from which these letters are taken is called the alphabet over which the language is defined....
 of a propositional calculus consists of (1) a set of primitive symbols, variously referred to as atomic formula
Atomic formula

In mathematical logic, an atomic formula is a formula with no deeper propositional structure, that is, a formula that contains no logical connectives or equivalently a formula that has no strict subformulas....
e
, placeholders, proposition letters, or variables, and (2) a set of operator symbols, variously interpreted as logical operators or logical connectives. A well-formed formula (wff) is any atomic formula or any formula that can be built up from atomic formulæ by means of operator symbols according to the rules of the grammar.

Outline

The following outlines a standard propositional calculus. Many different formulations exist which are all more or less equivalent but differ in the details of (1) their language, that is, the particular collection of primitive symbols and operator symbols, (2) the set of axioms, or distinguished formulæ, and (3) the set of inference rules.

Generic description of a propositional calculus

A propositional calculus is a formal system
Formal system

In logic, a formal system consists of a formal language together with a deductive system which consists of a set of inference rules and/or axioms....
 , whose formulæ are constructed in the following manner:

  • The alpha set is a finite set of elements called proposition symbols or propositional variable
    Propositional variable

    In mathematical logic, a propositional variable is a variable which can either be true or false. Propositional variables are the basic building-blocks of propositional formulas, used in propositional logic and higher logics....
    s
    . Syntactically speaking, these are the most basic elements of the formal language , otherwise referred to as atomic formulæ
    Atomic formula

    In mathematical logic, an atomic formula is a formula with no deeper propositional structure, that is, a formula that contains no logical connectives or equivalently a formula that has no strict subformulas....
     or terminal elements. In the examples to follow, the elements of are typically the letters , , , and so on.


  • The omega set is a finite set of elements called operator symbols
    Operator

    In mathematics, an operator is a function which operates on another function. Often, an "operator" is a function which acts on functions to produce other functions ; or it may be a generalization of such a function, as in linear algebra, where some of the terminology reflects the origin of the subject in operations on the functions which ar...
     or logical connective
    Logical connective

    In logic, two sentences may be joined by means of a logical connective to form a compound sentence. The truth-value of the compound is uniquely determined by the truth-values of the simpler sentences....
    s
    . The set is partition
    Partition of a set

    In mathematics, a partition of a Set X is a division of X into non-overlapping "parts" or "blocks" or "cells" that cover all of X....
    ed into disjoint subsets as follows:


.

In this partition, is the set of operator symbols of arity
Arity

In logic, mathematics, and computer science, the arity of a function or operation is the number of arguments or operands that the function takes. The arity of a relation is the number of domains in the corresponding Cartesian product....
 .


In the more familiar propositional calculi, is typically partitioned as follows:


,

.

A frequently adopted convention treats the constant logical value
Logical value

In logic and mathematics, a logical value, also called a truth value, is a value indicating the extent to which a proposition is truth.In classical logic, the only possible truth values are true and false....
s as operators of arity zero, thus:


.

Some writers use the tilde
Tilde

The tilde is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character comes from Spanish language, from the Latin wikt:titulus meaning a title or superscription, though the term ?tilde? has evolved in that language and now has a different meaning in Linguistics....
 (~) instead of ; and some use the ampersand
Ampersand

An ampersand , also commonly called an " 'and' sign," is a logogram representing the grammatical conjunction "and". The symbol is a Typographic ligature of the letters in et, Latin for "and"....
 (&) or instead of . Notation varies even more for the set of logical values, with symbols like , , or all being seen in various contexts instead of .


Depending on the precise formal grammar or the grammar formalism that is being used, syntactic auxiliaries like the left parenthesis, "(", and the right parentheses, ")", may be necessary to complete the construction of formulæ.


The language of , also known as its set of formulæ, well-formed formula
Well-formed formula

In computer science and mathematical logic, a well-formed formula or simply formula is a symbol or string of symbols that is generated by the formal grammar of a formal language....
s
or wffs, is inductively
Mathematical induction

Mathematical induction is a method of mathematical proof typically used to establish that a given statement is true of all natural numbers. It is done by proving that the first statement in the infinite sequence of statements is true, and then proving that if any one statement in the infinite sequence of statements is true, then...
 or recursive
Recursive

Recursive may refer to*Recursion*Recursively enumerable language*Recursively enumerable set*Recursive filter*Recursive function*Recursive language...
ly defined by the following rules:


  1. Base. Any element of the alpha set is a formula of .
  2. Step (a). If is a formula, then is a formula.
  3. Step (b). If and are formulæ, then , , , and are formulæ.
  4. Closed. Nothing else is a formula of .


Repeated applications of these rules permits the construction of complex formulæ. For example:


  1. By rule 1, is a formula.
  2. By rule 2, is a formula.
  3. By rule 1, is a formula.
  4. By rule 3, is a formula.


  • The zeta set is a finite set of transformation rules that are called inference rules when they acquire logical applications.


  • The iota set is a finite set of initial points that are called axiom
    Axiom

    In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evidence, or subject to necessary decision....
    s when they receive logical interpretations.


Example 1. Simple axiom system

Let , where are defined as follows:

  • The alpha set , is a finite set of symbols that is large enough to supply the needs of a given discussion, for example:


  • Of the three connectives for conjunction, disjunction, and implication ( and ), one can be taken as primitive and the other two can be defined in terms of it and negation . Indeed, all of the logical connectives can be defined in terms of a sole sufficient operator
    Sole sufficient operator

    A sole sufficient operator or a sole sufficient connective is an operator that is sufficient by itself to generate all of the operators in a specified class of operators....
    . The biconditional can of course be defined in terms of conjunction and implication, with defined as .
/>Adopting negation and implication as the two primitive operations of a propositional calculus is tantamount to having the omega set partition as follows:





  • An axiom system discovered by Jan Lukasiewicz
    Jan Lukasiewicz

    Jan Lukasiewicz was a Poland mathematician born in Lw?w, Galicia , Austria-Hungary . His major mathematical work centred on mathematical logic....
     formulates a propositional calculus in this language as follows. The axioms are all substitution instances of:








  • The rule of inference is modus ponens
    Modus ponens

    In classical logic, modus ponendo ponens is a valid, simple argument form sometimes referred to as affirming the antecedent or the law of detachment....
     (i.e. from and , infer ). Then is defined as , and is defined as .


Example 2. Natural deduction system


Let , where are defined as follows:

  • The alpha set , is a finite set of symbols that is large enough to supply the needs of a given discussion, for example:




  • The omega set partitions as follows:






In the following example of a propositional calculus, the transformation rules are intended to be interpreted as the inference rules of a so-called
natural deduction system. The particular system presented here has no initial points, which means that its interpretation for logical applications derives its theorem
Theorem

In mathematics, a theorem is a statement Mathematical proof on the basis of previously accepted or established statements such as axioms.In formal mathematical logic, the concept of a theorem may be taken to mean a formula that can be formal proof according to the deductive system of a fixed formal system....
s from an empty axiom set.

  • The set of initial points is empty, that is,


  • The set of transformation rules, , is described as follows:


Our propositional calculus has ten inference rules. These rules allow us to derive other true formulae given a set of formulae that are assumed to be true. The first nine simply state that we can infer certain wffs from other wffs. The last rule however uses hypothetical reasoning in the sense that in the premise of the rule we temporarily assume an (unproven) hypothesis to be part of the set of inferred formulae to see if we can infer a certain other formula. Since the first nine rules don't do this they are usually described as
non-hypothetical rules, and the last one as a hypothetical rule.

Reductio ad absurdum
Reductio ad absurdum

Reductio ad absurdum , also known as an apagogical argument, reductio ad impossibile, or proof by contradiction, is a type of logical argument where one assumes a claim for the sake of argument and derives an absurd or ridiculous outcome, and then concludes that the original claim must have been wrong as it led to an abs...
 (negation introduction) : From , if accepting (q) leads to a proof that , infer . Double negative elimination
Double negative elimination

In propositional logic, the inference rules double negative elimination allow deriving the double negative equivalent by adding or removing a pair of negation signs....
 : From , infer . Conjunction introduction
Conjunction introduction

Conjunction introduction is the inference that, if p is true, and q is true, then the logical conjunction p and q is true.For example, if it's true that it's raining, and it's true that I'm inside, then it's true that it's raining, and I'm inside....
 : From and , infer .
From and , infer .
Conjunction elimination : From , infer
From , infer .
Disjunction introduction
Disjunction introduction

Disjunction introduction or Addition is a validity, simple argument form in logic:or in logical operator notation:The argument form has one premise, A, and an unrelated proposition, B....
 : From , infer
From , infer .
Disjunction elimination
Disjunction elimination

In propositional logic disjunction elimination is the inference that, if "A or B" is true, and A entails C, and B entails C, then we may justifiably infer C....
 : From , , , infer . Biconditional introduction
Biconditional introduction

In mathematical logic, biconditional introduction is the rule of inference that, if B follows from A, and A follows from B, then A if and only if B....
 : From , , infer . Biconditional elimination
Biconditional elimination

Biconditional elimination allows one to infer a Material conditional from a biconditional: if is true, then one may infer either direction of the biconditional, and ....
 : From , infer ;
From , infer .
Modus ponens
Modus ponens

In classical logic, modus ponendo ponens is a valid, simple argument form sometimes referred to as affirming the antecedent or the law of detachment....
 (conditional elimination) : From , , infer . Conditional proof
Conditional proof

A conditional proof is a mathematical proof that takes the form of asserting a Material conditional, and proving that the antecedent of the conditional necessarily leads to the consequent....
 (conditional introduction) : If accepting allows a proof of , infer .

Basic and Derived Argument Forms
Name Sequent Description
Modus Ponens If p then q; p; therefore q
Modus Tollens If p then q; not q; therefore not p
Hypothetical Syllogism If p then q; if q then r; therefore, if p then r
Disjunctive Syllogism Either p or q, or both; not p; therefore, q
Constructive Dilemma If p then q; and if r then s; but p or r; therefore q or s
Destructive Dilemma If p then q; and if r then s; but not q or not s; therefore not p or not r
Bidirectional Dilemma If p then q; and if r then s; but p or not s; therefore q or not r
Simplification p and q are true; therefore p is true
Conjunction p and q are true separately; therefore they are true conjointly
Addition p is true; therefore the disjunction (p or q) is true
Composition If p then q; and if p then r; therefore if p is true then q and r are true
De Morgan's Theorem (1) The negation of (p and q) is equiv. to (not p or not q)
De Morgan's Theorem (2) The negation of (p or q) is equiv. to (not p and not q)
Commutation (1) (p or q) is equiv. to (q or p)
Commutation (2) (p and q) is equiv. to (q and p)
Commutation (3) (p is equiv. to q) is equiv. to (q is equiv. to p)
Association (1) p or (q or r) is equiv. to (p or q) or r
Association (2) p and (q and r) is equiv. to (p and q) and r
Distribution (1) p and (q or r) is equiv. to (p and q) or (p and r)
Distribution (2) p or (q and r) is equiv. to (p or q) and (p or r)
Double Negation p is equivalent to the negation of not p
Transposition If p then q is equiv. to if not q then not p
Material Implication If p then q is equiv. to not p or q
Material Equivalence (1) (p is equiv. to q) means (if p is true then q is true) and (if q is true then p is true)
Material Equivalence (2) (p is equiv. to q) means either (p and q are true) or (both p and q are false)
Material Equivalence (3) (p is equiv. to q) means, both (p or not q is true) and (not p or q is true)
Exportation from (if p and q are true then r is true) we can prove (if q is true then r is true, if p is true)
Importation  
Tautology (1) p is true is equiv. to p is true or p is true
Tautology (2) p is true is equiv. to p is true and p is true
Tertium non datur (Law of Excluded Middle) p or not p is true
Law of Non-Contradiction p and not p is false, is a true statement


Proofs in propositional calculus

One of the main uses of a propositional calculus, when interpreted for logical applications, is to determine relations of logical equivalence between propositional formulæ. These relationships are determined by means of the available transformation rules, sequences of which are called
derivations or proofs.

In the discussion to follow, a proof is presented as a sequence of numbered lines, with each line consisting of a single formula followed by a
reason or justification for introducing that formula. Each premise of the argument, that is, an assumption introduced as an hypothesis of the argument, is listed at the beginning of the sequence and is marked as a "premise" in lieu of other justification. The conclusion is listed on the last line. A proof is complete if every line follows from the previous ones by the correct application of a transformation rule. (For a contrasting approach, see proof-trees).

Example of a proof

  • To be shown that .


  • One possible proof of this (which, though valid, happens to contain more steps than are necessary) may be arranged as follows:


Example of a Proof
Number Formula Reason
1 premise
2 From (1) by disjunction introduction
3 From (1) and (2) by conjunction introduction
4 From (3) by conjunction elimination
5 Summary of (1) through (4)
6 From (5) by conditional proof


Interpret as "Assuming , infer ". Read as "Assuming nothing, infer that implies ", or "It is a tautology that implies ", or "It is always true that implies ".

Soundness and completeness of the rules

The crucial properties of this set of rules are that they are
sound
Soundness

In mathematical logic, a logical system has the soundness property if and only if its inference rules prove only formula that are valid with respect to its semantics....
and complete. Informally this means that the rules are correct and that no other rules are required. These claims can be made more formal as follows.

We define a
truth assignment as a function
Function (mathematics)

The mathematical concept of a function expresses dependence between two quantities, one of which is known and the other which is produced. A function associates a single output to each input element drawn from a fixed Set , such as the real numbers , although different inputs may have the same output....
 that maps propositional variables to true or false. Informally such a truth assignment can be understood as the description of a possible state of affairs
State of affairs

The state of affairs is that combination of circumstances applying within a society or group at a particular time. The current state of affairs may be considered acceptable by many observers, but not necessarily by all....
 (or possible world
Possible world

In philosophy and logic, the concept of possible worlds is used to express modal logic. In philosophy, the term "modality" covers such notions as "possibility", "necessity", and "contingency"....
) where certain statements are true and others are not. The semantics of formulae can then be formalized by defining for which "state of affairs" they are considered to be true, which is what is done by the following definition.

We define when such a truth assignment satisfies a certain wff
Well-formed formula

In computer science and mathematical logic, a well-formed formula or simply formula is a symbol or string of symbols that is generated by the formal grammar of a formal language....
 with the following rules:
  • satisfies the propositional variable if and only if
    If and only if

    If and only if, in logic and fields that rely on it such as mathematics and philosophy, is a biconditional logical connective between statements....
     
  • satisfies if and only if does not satisfy
  • satisfies if and only if satisfies both and
  • satisfies if and only if satisfies at least one of either or
  • satisfies if and only if it is not the case that satisfies but not
  • satisfies if and only if satisfies both and or satisfies neither one of them


With this definition we can now formalize what it means for a formula to be implied by a certain set of formulae. Informally this is true if in all worlds that are possible given the set of formulae the formula also holds. This leads to the following formal definition: We say that a set of wffs
semantically entails (or implies) a certain wff if all truth assignments that satisfy all the formulae in also satisfy .

Finally we define
syntactical entailment such that is syntactically entailed by if and only if we can derive it with the inference rules that were presented above in a finite number of steps. This allows us to formulate exactly what it means for the set of inference rules to be sound and complete: Soundness : If the set of wffs syntactically entails wff then semantically entails Completeness : If the set of wffs semantically entails wff then syntactically entails For the above set of rules this is indeed the case.

Sketch of a soundness proof

(For most logical systems, this is the comparatively "simple" direction of proof)

Notational conventions: Let "
G" be a variable ranging over sets of sentences. Let "A", "B", and "C" range over sentences. For "G syntactically entails A" we write "G proves A". For "G semantically entails A" we write "G implies A".

We want to show: (
A)(G)(if G proves A, then G implies A).

We note that "
G proves A" has an inductive definition, and that gives us the immediate resources for demonstrating claims of the form "If G proves A, then ...". So our proof proceeds by induction.

  • I. Basis. Show: If A is a member of G, then G implies A.
  • II. Basis. Show: If A is an axiom, then G implies A.
  • III. Inductive step (induction on n, the length of the proof):
Assume for arbitrary G and A that if G proves A in n or fewer steps, then G implies A.
For each possible application of a rule of inference at step n+1, leading to a new theorem B, show that G implies B.


Notice that Basis Step II can be omitted for natural deduction
Natural deduction

In philosophical logic, natural deduction is an approach to proof theory that attempts to provide a deductive system which is a formal model of logical reasoning as it "naturally" occurs....
 systems because they have no axioms. When used, Step II involves showing that each of the axioms is a (semantic) logical truth.

The Basis step(s) demonstrate(s) that the simplest provable sentences from
G are also implied by G, for any G. (The is simple, since the semantic fact that a set implies any of its members, is also trivial.) The Inductive step will systematically cover all the further sentences that might be provable—by considering each case where we might reach a logical conclusion using an inference rule—and shows that if a new sentence is provable, it is also logically implied. (For example, we might have a rule telling us that from "A" we can derive "A or B". In III.(a) We assume that if A is provable it is implied. We also know that if A is provable then "A or B" is provable. We have to show that then "A or B" too is implied. We do so by appeal to the semantic definition and the assumption we just made. A is provable from G, we assume. So it is also implied by G. So any semantic valuation making all of G true makes A true. But any valuation making A true makes "A or B" true, by the defined semantics for "or". So any valuation which makes all of G true makes "A or B" true. So "A or B" is implied.) Generally, the Inductive step will consist of a lengthy but simple case-by-case analysis of all the rules of inference, showing that each "preserves" semantic implication.

By the definition of provability, there are no sentences provable other than by being a member of
G, an axiom, or following by a rule; so if all of those are semantically implied, the deduction calculus is sound.

Sketch of completeness proof

(This is usually the much harder direction of proof.)

We adopt the same notational conventions as above.

We want to show: If
G implies A, then G proves A. We proceed by contraposition
Contraposition

In traditional logic, contraposition is a form of immediate inference in which from a given proposition another is inferred having for its subject the contradictory of the original predicate , and in some cases involving a change of quality ....
: We show instead that If
G does not prove A then G does not imply A.

  • I. G does not prove A. (Assumption)
  • II. If G does not prove A, then we can construct an (infinite) "Maximal Set", G*, which is a superset of G and which also does not prove A.
    • (a)Place an "ordering" on all the sentences in the language. (e.g., alphabetical ordering), and number them E1, E2, ...
    • (b)Define a series Gn of sets (G0, G1 ... ) inductively, as follows. (i)G0 = G. (ii) If proves A, then G(k+1) = Gk. (iii) If does not prove A, then G(k+1) =
    • (c)Define G* as the union of all the Gn. (That is, G* is the set of all the sentences that are in any Gn).
    • (d) It can be easily shown that (i) G* contains (is a superset of) G (by (b.i)); (ii) G* does not prove A (because if it proves A then some sentence was added to some Gn which caused it to prove A; but this was ruled out by definition); and (iii) G* is a "Maximal Set" (with respect to A): If any more sentences whatever were added to G*, it would prove A. (Because if it were possible to add any more sentences, they should have been added when they were encountered during the construction of the Gn, again by definition)
  • III. If G* is a Maximal Set (wrt A), then it is "truth-like". This means that it contains the sentence "C" only if it does not contain the sentence not-C; If it contains "C" and contains "If C then B" then it also contains "B"; and so forth.
  • IV. If G* is truth-like there is a "G*-Canonical" valuation of the language: one that makes every sentence in G* true and everything outside G* false while still obeying the laws of semantic composition in the language.
  • V. A G*-canonical valuation will make our original set G all true, and make A false.
  • VI. If there is a valuation on which G are true and A is false, then G does not (semantically) imply A.


QED
Q.E.D.

Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the List of Latin phrases , which literally means "which was to be demonstrated". The phrase is written in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or Philosophy Logical argument, to signify that the last statement deduced was the one to be demonstrated, so the proof is complete....


Another outline for a completeness proof

If a formula is a tautology
Tautology (logic)

In propositional logic, a tautology is a propositional formula that is true under any possible Valuation of its propositional variables. For example, the propositional formula is a tautology, because the statement is true for any valuation of A....
, then there is a truth table
Truth table

A truth table is a mathematical table used in logic?specifically in connection with Boolean algebra , boolean functions, and propositional calculus?to compute the functional values of logical expression s on each of their functional arguments, that is, on each combination of values taken by their logical variables....
 for it which shows that each valuation yields the value true for the formula. Consider such a valuation. By mathematical induction on the length of the subformulae, show that the truth or falsity of the subformula follows from the truth or falsity (as appropriate for the valuation) of each propositional variable in the subformula. Then combine the lines of the truth table together two at a time by using "(P is true implies S) implies ((P is false implies S) implies S)". Keep repeating this until all dependencies on propositional variables have been eliminated. The result is that we have proved the given tautology. Since every tautology is provable, the logic is complete.

Alternative calculus

It is possible to define another version of propositional calculus, which defines most of the syntax of the logical operators by means of axioms, and which uses only one inference rule.

Axioms

Let , and stand for well-formed formulæ. (The wffs themselves would not contain any Greek letters, but only capital Roman letters, connective operators, and parentheses.) Then the axioms are as follows:

Axioms
Name Axiom Schema Description
THEN-1 Add hypothesis , implication introduction
THEN-2 Distribute hypothesis over implication
AND-1 Eliminate conjunction
AND-2  
AND-3 Introduce conjunction
OR-1 Introduce disjunction
OR-2  
OR-3 ( Eliminate disjunction
NOT-1 ( Introduce negation
NOT-2 Eliminate negation
NOT-3 Excluded middle, classical logic
IFF-1 ( Eliminate equivalence
IFF-2 (  
IFF-3 ( Introduce equivalence


Axiom THEN-2 may be considered to be a "distributive property of implication with respect to implication."
Axioms AND-1 and AND-2 correspond to "conjunction elimination". The relation between AND-1 and AND-2 reflects the commutativity of the conjunction operator.
Axiom AND-3 corresponds to "conjunction introduction."
Axioms OR-1 and OR-2 correspond to "disjunction introduction." The relation between OR-1 and OR-2 reflects the commutativity of the disjunction operator.
Axiom NOT-1 corresponds to "reductio ad absurdum."
Axiom NOT-2 says that "anything can be deduced from a contradiction."
Axiom NOT-3 is called "tertium non datur
Law of excluded middle

In logic, the law of the excluded middle states that the propositional calculus formula "P ? ?P" can be deduced from the calculus under investigation....
" (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: "a third is not given") and reflects the semantic valuation of propositional formulae: a formula can have a truth-value of either true or false. There is no third truth-value, at least not in classical logic. Intuitionistic logic
Intuitionistic logic

Intuitionistic logic, or constructivist logic, is the symbolic logic system originally developed by Arend Heyting to provide a formal basis for Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer's programme of intuitionism....
ians do not accept the axiom NOT-3.

Inference rule

The inference rule is modus ponens
Modus ponens

In classical logic, modus ponendo ponens is a valid, simple argument form sometimes referred to as affirming the antecedent or the law of detachment....
:
  • .


Meta-inference rule

Let a demonstration be represented by a sequence, with hypotheses to the left of the turnstile
Turnstile (symbol)

In mathematical logic and computer science the symbol has taken the name turnstile because of its resemblance to a typical turnstile if viewed from above....
 and the conclusion to the right of the turnstile. Then the deduction theorem
Deduction theorem

In mathematical logic, the deduction theorem states that if a formula B is deducible from a set then the implication A ? B is deducible from In symbols,...
 can be stated as follows:
If the sequence
has been demonstrated, then it is also possible to demonstrate the sequence
.


This deduction theorem (DT) is not itself formulated with propositional calculus: it is not a theorem of propositional calculus, but a theorem about propositional calculus. In this sense, it is a meta-theorem, comparable to theorems about the soundness or completeness of propositional calculus.

On the other hand, DT is so useful for simplifying the syntactical proof process that it can be considered and used as another inference rule, accompanying modus ponens. In this sense, DT corresponds to the natural conditional proof
Conditional proof

A conditional proof is a mathematical proof that takes the form of asserting a Material conditional, and proving that the antecedent of the conditional necessarily leads to the consequent....
 inference rule which is part of the first version of propositional calculus introduced in this article.

The converse of DT is also valid:
If the sequence
has been demonstrated, then it is also possible to demonstrate the sequence
in fact, the validity of the converse of DT is almost trivial compared to that of DT:
If
then
1: 2:
and from (1) and (2) can be deduced
3:
by means of modus ponens, Q.E.D.


The converse of DT has powerful implications: it can be used to convert an axiom into an inference rule. For example, the axiom AND-1,
can be transformed by means of the converse of the deduction theorem into the inference rule
which is conjunction elimination, one of the ten inference rules used in the first version (in this article) of the propositional calculus.

Example of a proof

The following is an example of a (syntactical) demonstration, involving only axioms THEN-1 and THEN-2:
Prove:
A ? A (Reflexivity of implication).
Proof:
1. (A ? ((B ? A) ? A)) ? ((A ? (B ? A)) ? (A ? A))
Axiom THEN-2 with f = A, ? = B ? A, ? = A
2. A ? ((B ? A) ? A)
Axiom THEN-1 with f = A, ? = B ? A
3. (A ? (B ? A)) ? (A ? A)
From (1) and (2) by modus ponens.
4. A ? (B ? A)
Axiom THEN-1 with f = A, ? = B
5. A ? A
From (3) and (4) by modus ponens.

Equivalence to equational logics


The preceding alternative calculus is an example of a Hilbert-style deduction system
Hilbert-style deduction system

In logic, especially mathematical logic, a Hilbert-style deduction system is a type of system of Deductive reasoning attributed to Gottlob Frege and David Hilbert....
. In the case of propositional systems the axioms are terms built with logical connectives and the only inference rule is modus ponens. Equational logic as standardly used informally in high school algebra is a different kind of calculus from Hilbert systems. Its theorems are equations and its inference rules express the properties of equality, namely that it is a congruence on terms that admits substitution.

Classical propositional calculus as described above is equivalent to Boolean algebra, while intuitionistic propositional calculus
Intuitionistic logic

Intuitionistic logic, or constructivist logic, is the symbolic logic system originally developed by Arend Heyting to provide a formal basis for Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer's programme of intuitionism....
 is equivalent to Heyting algebra
Heyting algebra

In mathematics, Heyting algebras are special partially ordered sets that constitute a generalization of Boolean algebra s, named after Arend Heyting....
. The equivalence is shown by translation in each direction of the theorems of the respective systems. Theorems F of classical or intuitionistic propositional calculus are translated as equations F = 1 of Boolean or Heyting algebra respectively. Conversely theorems of Boolean or Heyting algebra are translated as theorems of classical or propositional calculus respectively, for which is a standard abbreviation. In the case of Boolean algebra can also be translated as , but this translation is incorrect intuitionistically.

In both Boolean and Heyting algebra, inequality can be used in place of equality. The equality is expressible as a pair of inequalities and . Conversely the inequality is expressible as the equality , or as . The significance of inequality for Hilbert-style systems is that it corresponds to the latter's deduction or entailment symbol . An entailment


is translated in the inequality version of the algebraic framework as


Conversely the algebraic inequality is translated as the entailment


The difference between implication and inequality or entailment or is that the former is internal to the logic while the latter is external. Internal implication between two terms is another term of the same kind. Entailment as external implication between two terms expresses a metatruth outside the language of the logic, and is considered part of the metalanguage
Metalanguage

In logic and linguistics, a metalanguage is a language used to make statements about statements in another language which is called the object language....
. Even when the logic under study is intuitionistic, entailment is ordinarily understood classically as two-valued: either the left side entails, or is less-or-equal to, the right side, or it is not.

Similar but more complex translations to and from algebraic logics are possible for natural deduction systems as described above and for the sequent calculus
Sequent calculus

In proof theory and mathematical logic, the sequent calculus is a widely known proof calculus for first-order logic . The term "sequent calculus" applies both to a family of formal systems sharing a certain style of formal inference, and to its individual members, of which the first, and best known, is known under the name LK, distingui...
. The entailments of the latter can be interpreted as two-valued, but a more insightful interpretation is as a set, the elements of which can be understood as abstract proofs organized as the morphisms of a category
Category (mathematics)

In mathematics, a category is a fundamental and abstract way to describe mathematical entities and their relationships. A category is composed of a collection of abstract "objects" of any kind, linked together by a collection of abstract "morphism" of any kind that have a few basic properties ....
. In this interpretation the cut rule of the sequent calculus corresponds to composition in the category. Boolean and Heyting algebras enter this picture as special categories having at most one morphism per homset, i.e. one proof per entailment, corresponding to the idea that existence of proofs is all that matters: any proof will do and there is no point in distinguishing them.

Graphical calculi


It is possible to generalize the definition of a formal language from a set of finite sequences over a finite basis to include many other sets of mathematical structures, so long as they are built up by finitary means from finite materials. What's more, many of these families of formal structures are especially well-suited for use in logic.

For example, there are many families of graph
Graph (mathematics)

In mathematics a graph is an abstract representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links. The interconnected objects are represented by mathematical abstractions called vertices, and the links that connect some pairs of vertices are called edges....
s that are close enough analogues of formal languages that the concept of a calculus is quite easily and naturally extended to them. Indeed, many species of graphs arise as
parse graphs in the syntactic analysis of the corresponding families of text structures. The exigencies of practical computation on formal languages frequently demand that text strings be converted into pointer structure renditions of parse graphs, simply as a matter of checking whether strings are wffs or not. Once this is done, there are many advantages to be gained from developing the graphical analogue of the calculus on strings. The mapping from strings to parse graphs is called parsing
Parsing

In computer science and linguistics, parsing, or, more formally, syntactic analysis, is the process of analyzing a sequence of lexical analysis#Token to determine their grammatical structure with respect to a given formal grammar....
and the inverse mapping from parse graphs to strings is achieved by an operation that is called traversing
Graph traversal

Graph traversal refers to the problem of visiting all the nodes in a graph in a particular manner. Tree traversal is a special case of graph traversal....
the graph.

Other logical calculi

Propositional calculus is about the simplest kind of logical calculus in any current use. (Aristotelian "syllogistic" calculus, which is largely supplanted in modern logic, is in
some ways simpler — but in other ways more complex — than propositional calculus.) It can be extended in several ways.

The most immediate way to develop a more complex logical calculus is to introduce rules that are sensitive to more fine-grained details of the sentences being used. When the "atomic sentences" of propositional logic are broken up into terms
Singular term

There is no really adequate definition of singular term. Here are some definitions proposed by different writers:# A term that tells us which individual is being talked about....
, variable
Variable

A variable is a symbol that stands for a value that may vary; the term usually occurs in opposition to constant, which is a symbol for a non-varying value, i.e....
s, predicate
Predicate (logic)

Sometimes it is inconvenient or impossible to describe a set by listing all of its elements. Another useful way to define a set is by specifying a property that the elements of the set have in common....
s, and quantifiers, they yield first-order logic
First-order logic

First-order logic is a formal deductive system used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. It goes by many names, including: first-order predicate calculus , the lower predicate calculus, the language of first-order logic or predicate logic....
, or first-order predicate logic, which keeps all the rules of propositional logic and adds some new ones. (For example, from "All dogs are mammals" we may infer "If Rover is a dog then Rover is a mammal".) It makes sense to refer to propositional logic as
"zeroth-order logic", when comparing it with first-order logic
First-order logic

First-order logic is a formal deductive system used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. It goes by many names, including: first-order predicate calculus , the lower predicate calculus, the language of first-order logic or predicate logic....
 and second-order logic
Second-order logic

In logic and mathematics second-order logic is an extension of first-order logic, which itself is an extension of propositional logic. Second-order logic is in turn extended by higher-order logic and type theory....
.

With the tools of first-order logic it is possible to formulate a number of theories, either with explicit axioms or by rules of inference, that can themselves be treated as logical calculi. Arithmetic
Arithmetic

Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations....
 is the best known of these; others include set theory
Set theory

Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies Set , which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics....
 and mereology
Mereology

In philosophy, mereology is a collection of axiomatic first-order theories dealing with parts and their respective wholes. Mereology is both an application of predicate logic and a branch of formal ontology....
.

Modal logic
Modal logic

A modal logic is any system of mathematical logic#Formal logic that attempts to deal with notions of possibility and necessity. Traditionally, there are three "modes" or "moods" or "modalities" of the Copula to be, namely, Logical possibility, probability, and Necessary_and_sufficient_conditions#Necessary_conditions....
 also offers a variety of inferences that cannot be captured in propositional calculus. For example, from "Necessarily
p" we may infer that p. From p we may infer "It is possible that p". The translation between modal logics and algebraic logics is as for classical and intuitionistic logics but with the introduction of a unary operator on Boolean or Heyting algebras, different from the Boolean operations, interpreting the possibility modality, and in the case of Heyting algebra a second operator interpreting necessity (for Boolean algebra this is redundant since necessity is the De Morgan dual of possibility). The first operator preserves 0 and disjunction while the second preserves 1 and conjunction.

Many-valued logics are those allowing sentences to have values other than
true and false. (For example, neither and both are standard "extra values"; "continuum logic" allows each sentence to have any of an infinite number of "degrees of truth" between true and false.) These logics often require calculational devices quite distinct from propositional calculus. When the values form a Boolean algebra (which may have more than two or even infinitely many values), many-valued logic reduces to classical logic; many-valued logics are therefore only of independent interest when the values form an algebra that is not Boolean.

Solvers

Finding solutions to propositional logic formulas is an NP-complete
NP-complete

In computational complexity theory, the complexity class NP-complete is a class of problems having two properties:* Any given solution to the problem can be verified quickly ; the set of problems with this property is called NP ....
 problem. However, recent breakthroughs (Chaff algorithm
Chaff algorithm

Chaff is an algorithm for solving instances of the boolean satisfiability problem in programming. It was designed by researchers at Princeton University, USA....
, 2001) have led to the development of small, efficient SAT solvers, which are very fast for most cases. Recent work has extended the SAT solver algorithms to work with propositions containing arithmetic expressions; these are the SMT solvers.

See also


Higher logical levels

  • First-order logic
    First-order logic

    First-order logic is a formal deductive system used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. It goes by many names, including: first-order predicate calculus , the lower predicate calculus, the language of first-order logic or predicate logic....
  • Second-order logic
    Second-order logic

    In logic and mathematics second-order logic is an extension of first-order logic, which itself is an extension of propositional logic. Second-order logic is in turn extended by higher-order logic and type theory....
  • Higher-order logic
    Higher-order logic

    In mathematics, higher-order logic is distinguished from first-order logic in a number of ways.One of these is the type of Free variables and bound variables appearing in quantifications; in first-order logic, roughly speaking, it is forbidden to quantify over Predicate s....


Related topics

  • Ampheck
  • Boolean algebra (logic)
  • Boolean algebra (structure)
  • Boolean algebra topics
  • Boolean domain
    Boolean domain

    In mathematics and abstract algebra, a Boolean domain is a Set consisting of exactly two elements whose interpretations include false and true....
  • Boolean function
    Boolean function

    In mathematics, a Boolean function is a function of the form f : Bk ? B, where B =  is a Boolean domain and k is a nonnegative integer called the arity of the function....
  • Boolean-valued function
    Boolean-valued function

    A boolean-valued function, in some usages a Predicate_ or a Proposition, is a function of the type f : X ? B, where X is an arbitrary Set and where B is a boolean domain....
  • Categorical logic
    Categorical logic

    Categorical logic is a branch of category theory within mathematics, adjacent to mathematical logic but in fact more notable for its connections to theoretical computer science....
  • Combinational logic
    Combinational logic

    In digital circuit theory, combinational logic is a type of logic circuit whose output is a pure function of the present input only. This is in contrast to sequential logic, in which the output depends not only on the present input but also on the history of the input....
  • Combinatory logic
    Combinatory logic

    Combinatory logic is a notation introduced by Moses Sch?nfinkel and Haskell Curry to eliminate the need for variables in mathematical logic. It has more recently been used in computer science as a theoretical model of computation and also as a basis for the design of functional programming languages....
  • Conceptual graph
    Conceptual graph

    A conceptual graph is a notation for logic based on the existential graphs of Charles Sanders Peirce and the semantic networks of artificial intelligence....
  • Disjunctive syllogism
    Disjunctive syllogism

    A disjunctive syllogism, historically known as modus tollendo ponens, is a classical logic validity, simple argument form:Roughly speaking, we are told that at least one of two statements is true; then we are told that it is not the former that is true; so we infer that it has to be the latter that is true....
  • Entitative graph
    Entitative graph

    An entitative graph is an element of the graph theory syntax for logic that Charles Sanders Peirce developed under the name of qualitative logic beginning in the 1880's, taking the coverage of the formal system only as far as the propositional calculus aspects of logic are concerned....
  • Existential graph
    Existential graph

    An existential graph is a type of diagrammatic or visual notation for logical expressions, proposed by Charles Sanders Peirce, who wrote his first paper on logical graph in 1882 and continued to develop the method until his death in 1914....
  • Frege's propositional calculus
    Frege's propositional calculus

    In mathematical logic Frege's propositional calculus was the first axiomatization of propositional calculus. It was invented by Gottlob Frege, who also invented predicate calculus, in 1879 as part of his second-order predicate calculus ....
  • Implicational propositional calculus
    Implicational propositional calculus

    In mathematical logic, the implicational propositional calculus is a version of classical propositional calculus which uses only one logical connective, called implication or conditional....
  • Intuitionistic propositional calculus
  • Laws of Form
    Laws of Form

    Laws of Form is a book by G. Spencer-Brown, published in 1969, that straddles the boundary between mathematics and of philosophy. LoF describes three distinct logical systems:...
  • Logical graph
    Logical graph

    A logical graph is a special type of diagramatic structure in any one of several systems of graphical syntax that Charles Sanders Peirce developed for logic....
  • Logical value
    Logical value

    In logic and mathematics, a logical value, also called a truth value, is a value indicating the extent to which a proposition is truth.In classical logic, the only possible truth values are true and false....
  • Minimal negation operator
    Minimal negation operator

    In logic and mathematics, the minimal negation operator is a multigrade operator where each is a k-ary boolean function defined in such a way that if and only if exactly one of the arguments is 0....
  • Multigrade operator
    Multigrade operator

    In logic and mathematics, a multigrade operator is a parametric operator with parameter k in the set N of non-negative integers....
  • Operation
    Operation (mathematics)

    In its simplest meaning in mathematics and logic, an operation is an action or procedure which produces a new value from one or more input values....
  • Parametric operator
    Parametric operator

    In logic and mathematics, a parametric operator with parameter in the parametric set is a family of operators with index in the index set ....
  • Peirce's law
    Peirce's law

    Peirce's law in logic is named after the philosopher and logician Charles Sanders Peirce. It was taken as an Axiom#Mathematics in his first axiomatisation of propositional logic....
  • Propositional formula
    Propositional formula

    In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic Formula which is well formed formula and has a truth value. If the values of all variables in a propositional formula are given, it determines a unique truth value....
  • Symmetric difference
    Symmetric difference

    In mathematics, the symmetric difference of two Set is the set of elements which are in one of the sets, but not in both. This operation is the set-theoretic kin of the exclusive disjunction in Boolean logic....
  • Truth table
    Truth table

    A truth table is a mathematical table used in logic?specifically in connection with Boolean algebra , boolean functions, and propositional calculus?to compute the functional values of logical expression s on each of their functional arguments, that is, on each combination of values taken by their logical variables....

Related works


External links

  • Klement, Kevin C. (2006), "Propositional Logic", in James Fieser and Bradley Dowden (eds.), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

    The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a free online encyclopedia on Philosophy topics and philosophers founded by James Fieser in 1995....
    , .
  • , by P.D. Magnus, covers formal semantics and proof theory for sentential logic.
  • Propositional Logic (GFDLed)