LOGIC
Introduction
The word logic is derived from the Greek word logos. It means order, sense, or
coherence. For the ancient Greeks, what makes sense, orderly, or coherent is rational. Hence,
what is logical is rational, and what is rational is logical. Furthermore, as rational beings, we are
predisposed to what is orderly and reasonable. And it is on this basis that the Stoics proclaimed
that every human being is a logos spermatikos, a seed of reason.
Logic is a language for reasoning. It is a collection of rules we use in doing logical
reasoning. Human reasoning has been observed over centuries from at least the times of
Greeks, and patterns appearing in reasoning have been extracted, abstracted, and
streamlined.
In logic, we are interested in true or false of statements, and how the truth/falsehood of
a statement can be determined from other statements.
Note: Aristotle is considered the founder of logic, envisioned logic as an organon or instrument
for proper thinking.
I. Propositions
It is a point to the object it represents and so it cannot be assumed to ‘factual’ or
‘meaningful’. It cannot convey a complete thought or idea. It remains meaningless and useless
in the process of argumentation unless it is attached to another word/s. When two or more
words are put together then a statement can be formed; a fact or meaningful idea is created.
A proposition is a string of words said to be meaningful by virtue of the idea or fact it
conveys. Every word that it contains is treated always in relation to the other so that eventually
all of the words collectively convey an idea. In short, the word ‘proposition’ (where an idea is
being proposed), and even the word ‘statement’ (where an idea is stated).
Moreover, because of the idea or fact being conveyed, a proposition acquires a value (true
or false) so that any meaningful proposition can either be true or false. Another characteristic
of a proposition having a value is that, it must be in declarative form (where an idea is being
declared) as distinguished from other forms such as interrogative, exclamatory, command,
dependent clause and others. Aristotelian logic further requires that a proposition must be in
the present tense and this is due to the reasoning that only an idea occurring at the present
can be proven to be true or false.
Examples of propositions:
1. A sun is a star.
2. QSU is a public school.
3. A lot of students are Ilokanos.
4. None among the employees are exempted from paying taxes.
5. Majority of the students are from Cabarroguis.
Instructor: Novelyn Lopez-Mitra
LOGIC
Exercise
Directions: State whether the following statement are propositions or not. Write P if it is, and NP
if not.
______1. The proposition is true or false.
______2. The current president of the Philippines is a woman.
______3. Come with me to watch a movie.
______4. Aristotle was a Philosopher.
______5. Nobody is in the classroom.
______6. Here comes the band!
______7. Jose Rizal is a national hero.
______8. Horses have three legs.
______9. What do you want me to do?
______10. The most common language in the Philippines is Tagalog.
______11. Hand in your test papers when you are finished.
______12. Respect for elders is an important virtue in the Philippines.
______13. Stand up when you are called.
______14. Did you see R punch P?
______15. The prelim exam is on February 8 – 10.
______16. The plan for today.
______17. Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines.
______18. Do not speak when your mouth is full.
______19. Anyone can be a suspect.
______20. There are only 39 students in the class list.
______21. I love you!
______22. Ms. A dances.
______23. Love is kind.
______24. In order for students to study well.
______25. Teachers are noble.
Instructor: Novelyn Lopez-Mitra
LOGIC
If a proposition is compound, then it can be any of the following: negation, conjunction,
disjunction, conditional, and biconditional.
Given Examples:
p: Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines. (T)
q: Five is a prime number. (T)
r: Rhombuses are squares. (F)
s: 10 + 4 = 14
Negation of a proposition p is denoted by ~p, where ~ symbolizes “not”.
Examples: ~p: Baguio is not the summer capital of the Philippines.
~q: Five is not a prime number.
Conjunction of propositions p and q, called conjuncts is denoted by p ˄ q (read as p and
q), where ˄ symbolize “and”. Some of the words used to denote conjunctions, aside from
“and” are, “but”, “yet”, “while”, and “even though”.
Examples: p ˄ s: Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines
and 10 + 4 = 14.
q ˄ r: Five is a prime number and rhombuses are squares.
Disjunction of propositions p, q is the compound proposition “p ˅ q” (read as p or q),
where ˅ symbolize “or”. In ordinary language, the word “or” has several meanings. In
logic, there is inclusive disjunction (inclusive or) and exclusive disjunction (exclusive or).
Unless stated, a disjunction is considered inclusive by default.
Examples: p ˅ s: Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines or five is a prime
number.
p ˅ q: Rhombuses are squares or 10 + 4 = 14.
Conditional (implication) of propositions p and q is compound proposition “if p then q.”
Symbolically, p → q, where → means “if then”, p is called hypothesis (or antecedent or
premise) and q is called conclusion (or consequent or consequence).
Examples: p → q: If Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines,
then five is a prime number.
s → r: If 10 + 4 = 14 then rhombuses are squares.
Biconditional proposition is a compound which is derived from two conditional
propositions. It denoted by p ↔ q which is read as “p if and only if q”.
Examples: p ↔ q: Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines if
and only if five is a prime number.
p ↔ s: Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines if
and only if 10 + 4 = 14.
Instructor: Novelyn Lopez-Mitra
LOGIC
Let’s Warm Up
Vocabulary and Concepts
Directions: Match each proposition in Column A to its respective symbol in Column B.
A B
1. Biconditional a. ∧
2. Negation b. →
3. Conjunction (and) c. ∨
4. Disjunction (or) d. ↔
5. Conditional e. ∼
Let’s Do This!
A. Directions: Given the following propositions below, write each of the following
statements in symbolic form.
p: Mathematics is a challenging subject.
q: Manila is the capital of the Philippines.
r: 11 is a prime number.
1. If Manila is the capital of the Philippines, then Mathematics is a challenging subject.
2. It is not the case that Mathematics is a challenging subject.
3. Mathematics is not a challenging subject if and only if 11 is a prime number.
4. Manila is not the capital of the Philippines or Mathematics is not a challenging subject.
5. Mathematics is a challenging subject and Manila is the capital of the Philippines.
6. If 11 is a prime number then Mathematics is a challenging subject.
7. 11 is not a prime number.
8. Manila is the capital of the Philippines or Mathematics is a challenging subject.
9. If 11 is prime number and Mathematics is a challenging subject then Manila is the capital
of the Philippines.
10. It is not the case that 11 is a prime number and Mathematics is a challenging subject.
B. Directions: Given the following propositions below, write each of the following
statements in words.
p: Aristotle is a Philosopher.
q: Square is a rhombus.
r: 0 is an even number.
1. p ∧ r
2. p ↔ (∼r ∨ q ¿
3. r → q
4. ∼q ∧ r
5. p ∨ r
6. ∼p ∨¿ →r)
7. ∼(p ∧ r)
8. (q ↔ r) ∨p
9. p → q
10.p ↔ r
Instructor: Novelyn Lopez-Mitra
