Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements

2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalence

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
1 / 12
Statements

Definition
A statement (or proposition) is a sentence (or assertion) that is true or
false but not both. We typically use letters like p, q to denote propositions.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
2 / 12
Examples

Examples
1 Washington, DC, is the capital of United States.
2 Annapolis is the capital of United States.
3 It is snowing.
4 I made a mistake in signing up for this course.
5 1+1=2
All these statements are simple statements.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
3 / 12
Examples

Examples
1 Washington, DC, is the capital of United States.
2 Annapolis is the capital of United States.
3 It is snowing.
4 I made a mistake in signing up for this course.
5 1+1=2
All these statements are simple statements.

Food for thought

Am I saying the truth in the following statement? “I am lying now.”

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
3 / 12
Compound Statements

Definition
A combination of two or more simple statements is a compound
statement.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
4 / 12
Examples

Examples
1 Washington, DC, is the capital of United States and it is snowing.
2 Washington, DC, is the capital of United States or it is snowing.
3 It is not snowing.
4 I did not make a mistake in signing up for this course or 1 + 1 6= 2.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
5 / 12
The negation symbol

Definition
The symbol ∼ denotes not. Given a statement p, the sentence ∼ p is read
not p.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
6 / 12
The negation symbol

Definition
The symbol ∼ denotes not. Given a statement p, the sentence ∼ p is read
not p.

Examples
1 p: “It is snowing”. Then ∼ p: “It is not snowing”
2 q: 1 + 1 = 2. Then ∼ q: 1 + 1 6= 2.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
6 / 12
The or and and symbols

Definition
Let p and q be two statements.
1 The conjunction of p and q is p ∧ q and is read “p and q”
2 The disjunction of p and q is p ∨ q and is read “p or q”

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
7 / 12
Example

Example (Kemeny, Shell, Thompson)

Let p: “Fred likes George” and q: George likes Fred. Write the following
statements in symbolic form:
1 Fred and George like each other.
2 Fred and George dislike each other.
3 Fred likes George, but George does not reciprocate.
4 George is liked by Fred, but Fred is disliked by George.
5 Neither Fred nor George dislike each other.
6 It is not true that Fred and George dislike each other.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
8 / 12
Truth Tables

Fact
The truth value of a compound statement is determined by the truth
value of its component.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
9 / 12
Truth Tables

Fact
The truth value of a compound statement is determined by the truth
value of its component.
A very convenient way of tabulating this dependency is by means of a
truth table.

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
9 / 12
Truth table for ∼ p

Definition
The truth table for negation is:
p ∼p
T F
F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
10 / 12
Truth table for ∼ p

Definition
The truth table for negation is:
p ∼p
T F
F T

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
10 / 12
Truth table for conjunction

Definition
The truth table for conjunction is:
p q p∧q
T T

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
11 / 12
Truth table for conjunction

Definition
The truth table for conjunction is:
p q p∧q
T T T
T F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
11 / 12
Truth table for conjunction

Definition
The truth table for conjunction is:
p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
11 / 12
Truth table for conjunction

Definition
The truth table for conjunction is:
p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
11 / 12
Truth table for conjunction

Definition
The truth table for conjunction is:
p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
11 / 12
Truth table for disjunction

Definition
The truth table for disjunction is:
p q p∨q
T T

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
12 / 12
Truth table for disjunction

Definition
The truth table for disjunction is:
p q p∨q
T T T
T F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
12 / 12
Truth table for disjunction

Definition
The truth table for disjunction is:
p q p∨q
T T T
T F T
F T

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
12 / 12
Truth table for disjunction

Definition
The truth table for disjunction is:
p q p∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
12 / 12
Truth table for disjunction

Definition
The truth table for disjunction is:
p q p∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

Chapter 2: The Logic of Compound Statements 2.1: Logical Forms and Logical Equivalenc
12 / 12