LOGIC

Statements and Connectives

 Symbolic logic
Symbolic logic studies some parts and
relationships of the natural language by
representing them with symbols. The main
ingredients of symbolic logic are statements
and connectives
Simple Statement

A statement is an assertion that

can be either true or false.
Simple Statement

Examples.
1. It is sunny today;
2. Ms. W. will have a broader
audience next month;
3. I did not join the club
Simple statements do not contain other
statements as their parts.

We typically represent simple statements

using lower-case letters p, q, r,

s= Your bicycle is slick;

c= I like its color.
 We typically represent simple statements
using lower-case letters p, q, r, ..

 s = Your bicycle is slick;

 q= I like its color.
The dictionary of representation of
symbol
1.Statements
2.Connectives
3.Negation operation
4.Parentheses are used for
punctuation.
 Connectives

Connectives join simple statements

into more complex statements,
called compound statements. The
most common connectives and
their symbols are:
and/but =∧

or =∨

if . . . , then = →
Example.

1.Your bicycle is slick and I like its color

s ∧ c.
The “operation” not = ¬
turns a single statement into its negation
and it is not a connective.
Simple statements.
1. p is true (Assertion)
2. ¬p is false (Negation)
 Connectives and compound
statements

1.p ∧ q p and q (Conjunction)

2.p ∨ q either p or q,or both (Disjunction)
3.p →q if p then q (Conditional)
NOTE:
The connective or, in logic, has an inclusive
meaning.
For example, Bob will play tennis or go to the movies
is interpreted as follows:
Bob will either play tennis, or go to the movies, or do
both.
 NOTE:

The connective but has an identical

role as the connective and, thus the
same symbol ∧ is used for both.
 Your bicycle is slick, but I don’t like its
color is written symbolically as b ∧¬c.
 Parentheses.

1. If I do a web search for pages

containing the terms “termites” or
“cattle”, then I will search for pages
containing “global warming”.
t=I search for pages containing “termites;”

c=I search for pages containing “cattle;”

g=I search for pages containing “global

warming.”
Connectives and punctuation help with
splitting compound statements into
simple ones.

(t ∨ c) → g.
 NOTE
If we had accidentally skipped the
parenthesis, we would have created the
compound statement t ∨ c → g, which
could be read as:
 I search for pages containing “termites” or
 if I search for pages containing “cattle”,
 then I search for those containing “global
warming”.
 Exercises

1. Convert the following compound

statements into symbolic statements, by
assigning symbols to each simple
statements (for example, f=“my favorite
dish has lots of anchovies”) and using
the appropriate connectives:
1. Jim is a lawyer, yet he is not a crook.
2. My favorite dish has lots of anchovies
or is not spicy and also it comes in a
large portion.
3.If you do not attend class, then either you
read a book or you will not pass the
exam.
5.I am doing a web search for pages containing
the terms “global warming”, but not for pages
containing the word “termites” and not for pages
containing the word “cattle”.
Truth Values and Truth Tables

Example
1. If p=I play the piano is false, and
q=I study logic is true, then the
conjunction
p ∧ q =I play the piano and study
logic is a false statement.
Example. Construct the truth table for
the compound statement ¬(p ∨ q) ∧ p.
Basic Rules
COMPLETED TRUTH TABLE
EXERCISES
2. Construct truth tables for the following
compound statements: p ∧¬q.
 EXERCISES
Construct truth tables for the following
compound statements
(a) p ∧¬q.
(b) ¬(¬p) ∧ p.
(c) ¬(p ∨ q).
(d) (¬p)∧¬q.
(e) ¬(p ∨¬q) ∨ p.
 Represent the following statements
using logical connectives.
a) P or not Q.
(b) If P and R, then Q.
(c) P if and only if (Q and R).
(d) Not P and not Q.
(e) It is not the case that if P, then Q.
(f) If P and Q, then R or S.
Conditional statements
and their truth tables
p → q
p is called the antecedent

q is called the consequent

 Big Truth Tables
Break the compound statement into
“building blocks” of increasing complexity,
starting with a column for each letter, and
ending with the compound statement itself.
 COMPOUND STATEMENT
(p ∧¬r) ∨ (q ∨ r)
• p, q, r (the simplest building blocks)
• ¬r
• p ∧¬r and q ∨ r
• (p ∧¬r) ∨ (q ∨ r) (the most complex
block)
 CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND THEIR TRUTH
TABLES

A compound statement of the form “If p then q”,

written symbolically as
p → q,
p is called the antecedent, and
q is called the consequent of the conditional
statement.
If M is a human being, then M is mortal.

p=“M is a human being” is the

antecedent

q=“M is mortal” is the

consequent
TRUTH TABLE FOR CONDITIONAL
STATEMENT:
 Tautologies and Contradictions

Anything that happens, happens. Anything that

in happening causes something else to
happen, causes something else to happen.
Anything that in happening happens again,
happens again. Though not necessarily in that
order.
(From Mostly Harmless, by Douglas Adams.)
 Tautologies and Contradictions

A tautology is a statement that is

always true.

The expression “A is A” (often attributed

to Aristotle), is one of the most common
tautologies.
A quote from a student:

The main idea behind data compression is

to compress data.

• A quote from George W. Bush concerning

Native American tribes:

Tribal sovereignty means that, it’s sovereign.

 “You are sad,” the Knight said in an anxious
tone: “let me sing you a song to comfort
you. . . Everybody that hears me sing it –either it
brings the tears into their eyes,
or else –”
“Or else what?” said Alice, for the Knight had
made a sudden pause.
“Or else it doesn’t, you know.”
The statement in bold face can be written in
symbolic form as
p ∨ ¬p, where p = It brings tears into their eyes.
 CONTRADICTIONS

As opposed to tautologies, contradictions

are statements that are always false.
The expression “A and ¬A” is a contradiction
“I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I did in
my past life. “(Anonymous)
¬[p∨(¬p)]
 Exercises:
Show that the statement (p ∨ q) ∨ [(¬p)∧¬q]
is a tautology by constructing its truth table.
2. Use a truth table to check whether the
following are tautologies, contradictions, or
neither.
1) p ∧ (¬p).
2) ¬[(p ∧ q) → q].
EXERCISES: (p ∨ q) ∧ [(¬p)∨¬q]
p ∧¬p
q ∨¬(p ∧¬p)
 Logical Equivalence

Two statements are said to be

logically equivalent when they have
the same logical content.
Logical Equivalence

¬(¬p)

Two statements are logically

equivalent when their truth tables
are identical.
p → q and (¬p) ∨ q
 Logical Equivalence

Two statements of the form p → q and

(¬p) ∨ q are logically equivalent.

“If the price is right, I will buy this” and

“The price is not right or I will buy this”
 EXERCISES
1. Determine whether the following pairs of
statements are logically equivalent:

1. (p ∨ (p ∧ q)and p

2. ¬(p → q) and (¬p)→¬q.

p ∨ (p ∧ q)and p
LOGICALLY EQUIVALENT
¬(p → q) and (¬p)→¬q.
NOT LOGICALLY EQUIVALENT
Show that p ∧ (q ∨ r) is logically equivalent
to (p ∧ q) ∨ (p ∧ r).
Are the statements “ If I am not in Charleston,
then I am in Italy”, and “I am in
Charleston or I am not in Italy” logically
equivalent?
 (A) ¬(p ∧ q) is logically equivalent to (¬p)∨¬q.
(B) ¬(p ∨ q) is logically equivalent to (¬p)∧¬q.

Determine the equivalence of the

statement:
1.Today is Wednesday and it is raining
Logic:
Today is not Wednesday or it is not
raining.
OTHER LOGICAL EQUIVALENCES
a) p ∨ q = q ∨ p.
(Commutative Law for disjunction.)
(b) p ∧ q = q ∧ p.
(Commutative Law for conjunction.)
 LOGICAL EQUIVALENCE
(c) (p ∧ q) ∧ r = p ∧ (q ∧ r).
(Associative Law for conjunction.)
(d) (p ∨ q) ∨ r = p ∨ (q ∨ r).
(Associative Law for disjunction.)
(e) p ∨ (q ∧ r) = (p ∨ q) ∧ (p ∨ r) and p ∧
(q ∨ r) = (p ∧ q) ∨ (p ∧ r)
(Distributive Laws.)
De Morgan’s Laws
(The long truth table)
 De Morgan’s Laws

¬(p ∧ q) is logically equivalent to ¬(p)∨¬q.

¬(p ∨ q) is logically equivalent to ¬(p)∧¬q.

 .

 EXERCISES
 Exercises

1. Joe tells you that he is an actor

and went to India last summer. You
know that he is lying to you, what
compound statement about Joe is
true?
 1. Joe tells you that he is an actor and
went to India last summer. You know that
he is lying to you, what compound
statement about Joe is true?
Logical equivalence:
Either Joe is not an actor or he did not go to India
last summer.
¬(p ∧ q) is logically equivalent to ¬(p)∨¬q.

¬(a ∧ i) is logically equivalent to ¬(a)∨¬i.

2.Use logical equivalence to rewrite
the statement: It is not true that both
you are a billionaire and I am crazy.”
 2.Use logical equivalence to rewrite the
statement: It is not true that both you are a
billionaire and I am crazy.”

Logical Equivalence:
Either you are not a billionaire or I am not crazy.
¬(p ∧ q) is logically equivalent to ¬(p)∨¬q.

¬(b ∧ c) is logically equivalent to ¬(b)∨¬c.

3.Use logical equivalence to rewrite each of the
following sentences. If possible, rewrite
more simply.

1) It is not true that either I am wise or you are a

fool.
Logical equivalence:
I am not wise and you are not a fool.
 Conditionals in the English Language
Conditional statements appearing
throughout the English language do
not often come in the form …
If p then q
 Commonly used forms of conditional
statements.

1. If you build it, he will come. (The Voice

in the movie Field of Dreams.)
2. When you are distracted, it is difficult to
study.
3. It must be alive if it is breathing.
EXERCISES
EXERCISES
 Rewrite the following statements
using the form if . . . then . . . .

1. Every picture tells a story.

 Rewrite the following statements using the
form if . . . then . . . .
1. Every picture tells a story.

Conditional statement:
If something is a picture, then it tells a
story.
2. You can believe it if you see it
on the internet.
 2. You can believe it if you see it on
the internet.

Conditional Statement:
If you see it on the internet, then you can
believe it.
 Related Conditionals
Three important forms of conditional
statements related to p → q.
Converse
Inverse
Contrapositive
 Conditional Statement:
1. If you stay, then I leave.

p= you stay
q= I leave.
symbolic form of the conditional
statement p → q.
 The Converse
1. If you stay, then I leave.
The converse statement is obtained by
interchanging antecedent and consequent.
In symbols, the converse is simply
q → p.
 The Inverse
The inverse statement is obtained by
negating the antecedent and the
consequent.

In symbols, the inverse is

(¬p)→¬q.
 The Contrapositive
The contrapositive statement is one of the most
important related Conditionals. It is obtained by
negating both the antecedent and the consequent
and by interchanging them.

In symbols,the contrapositive is

(¬q)→¬p.
EXERCISES1. For each of the statements
written below:
1.If I live in Miami, then I live in Florida;
(a) Write it in symbolic form, identifying the
antecendent p and the consequent q.
(b) Write its converse, first in symbols, then in
English.
(c) Write its inverse, first in symbols, then in
English.
(d) Write its contrapositive, first in symbols, then
in English
1. If I live in Miami, then I live in Florida.

antecedent p=I live in Miami,

consequent q=I live in Florida.
p → q.
 The CONVERSE

If I live in Florida, then I live in Miami.

q→p
The INVERSE

If I do not live in Miami, then

I do not live in Florida

(¬p)→¬q
 The CONTRAPOSITIVE

If I do not live in Florida, then I do

not live in Miami.

(¬q)→¬p
2. If you do not agree, then the deal will fall
apart.
antecedent p=You do not agree,
consequent q=The deal will fall apart.
p → q.
Converse : If the deal will fall apart, then, you do not agree.
Inverse : If you do agree, then , the deal will not fall apart.
Contrapositive: If the deal will not fall apart, then you do
agree
3.It will bloom, if we water it;
RELATED CONDITIONALS
Logical equivalence of related conditionals

The conditional p → q and its converse q → p are

not logically equivalent.
Example.
If you are Michael Jordans, then you eat
Wheaties ,and
If you eat Wheaties, then you are Michael
Jordan.
Note:
The conditional p→q and its converse
q→p are not logically equivalent.
 Example.
If you are Michael Jordans, then you eat
Wheaties ,and
If you do not eat Wheaties, then you are
not Michael Jordan.
Note:
The conditional p → q and its
contrapositive (¬q)→¬p are logically
equivalent.
Example.
If Mr. X is the murderer, then his right index
finger is missing and If his right index finger is
not missing, then Mr. X is not the murderer.

Note. We also observe that the converse

q → p and the inverse (¬p) → ¬q are
logically equivalent statements.
 Negating Statements with Quantifiers

Some sentences contain universal

quantifiers such as all, each, every,
no(one
Some sentences contain existential
quantifiers such as some, there exists,
at least one.
Examples of Universal quantifiers :
all, each, every, no(one)

Examples of existential quantifiers :

such as some, there exists, at least
one
 All men in this group are named Bob,

A: Bob Hope, Bob Cape, Bob Sullivan. (All

men are named Bob.)
B: Mark Joos, Bob Hope, Richard Smith.
(Some men are named Bob and some are
not.)
C: Mark Joos, Rich Smith, Sam Tines. (No
men are named Bob.)
When negating a statement with a
quantifier, the statement and its negation
must apply to all scenarios and have
opposite truth values in each scenario.

P =All men in this group are named Bob

Correct (negation)statements:
¬p=Some men in this group are not named
Bob
¬p =Not all men in this group are named Bob.
 p = Some of us have headaches

¬p =None of us has headaches,

¬p =All of us do not have headaches
NEGATING STATEMENTS WITH QUANTIFIERS
NEGATING STATEMENTS WITH QUANTIFIERS
 p = Some of us have headaches

Correct negations:
¬P =None of us has headaches,
¬p =All of us do not have headaches.
 NOTES:

1. The negation of a statement containing a

universal quantifier (e.g. p =All animals can
swim, q =No one can hear) is a statement
containing an existential quantifier (¬p =Some
animals can not swim, ¬q=Someone can
hear.) This reflects the fact that the negation
of a universal truth requires at least one
exception.
 NOTES

2. Similarly, the negation of a statement

containing an existential quantifier (e.g.
p=There is a man who is three-meter tall) is
a statement containing a universal
quantifier (¬p =No man is three-meter
tall).
 NOTES:
3. Recalling the fact that the double negation of
a statement is the statement itself , we can now
easily write the negation of statements such as
p =No one can sing and
q =Some of us will not join
Look at the Venn diagrams in Fig. 2.1 and 2.2.
The correct statements are
¬p =Some person can sing and
¬q =All of us will join.