Predicate Logic

Topics
• Universal quantification
• Existential quantification
• Satisfaction and validity
• The negation of quantifiers
• Free and bound variables
• Substitution
• Restriction
• Uniqueness
• Equational reasoning
• Natural deduction
• One point rule
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Syntax of FOL: Basic
elements
• Constants KingJohn, 2,…
• Functions Sqrt, Likes...
• Variables x, y, a, b,...
• Connectives ¬, ⇒, ∧, ∨, ⇔
• Equality =
• Quantifiers ∀, ∃
Predicates
• A predicate is a proposition whose truth
depends on the value of one or more
variables.
• For example, “n is a perfect square” is a
predicate whose truth depends on the
value of n.
• A function like notation is used to
denote a predicate supplied with
specific variable values. P(n)=“n is a
perfect square”
• P(4) is true and P(5) is false.

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Universal Quantification
• Universal Quantification denoted as
• Universal Quantification allows us to capture
statements of the form “for all” or “for every”.
• For example, “every natural number is
greater than or equal to zero” can be written
formally as

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Universal Quantification
• A quantified statement consists of three
parts: the quantifier, the quantification,
and the predicate
• Every predicate logic statement can be
considered as follows

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Universal Quantification

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Exercise
• Everybody likes Jaffa cakes
• All vegetarians don’t like Jaffa
cakes
• Everybody either likes Jaffa cakes
or is a vegetarian
• Either every body likes Jaffa cakes
or everybody is a vegetarian

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Solution

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Universal Quantification
• Law 1

• Example

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Universal Quantification
• Law 2

• Example

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Existential quantification
• Existential quantifier denoted by
• Existential quantification is used to
assert that a property holds of some
(or at least one) elements of a set
• “Some natural numbers are divisible
by 3” may be written as

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Exercise
• Some people like Jaffa cakes
• Some vegetarians don’t like Jaffa
cakes
• Some people either like Jaffa cakes
or are vegetarian
• Either some people like Jaffa cakes
or some people are vegetarian

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Solution

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Existential quantification
• Law 3

• Example

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Existential quantification
• Law 4

• Example

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Satisfaction and validity
• The predicate n>3 can be considered neither
true nor false unless we know the value
associated with n

• A predicate p is valid if and only if it is true

for all possible values of the appropriate
type. That is, if a predicate p is associated
with a variable x of type X, then p is valid if,
and only if,

• Example
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Satisfaction and validity
• A predicate p is satisfiable if and only if
it is true for some values of the
appropriate type. That is, if a predicate
p is associated with a variable x of type
X, then p is satisfiable if, and only if ,

• Example

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Satisfaction and validity
• A predicate p is unsatisfiable if, and only
if, it is false for all possible values of the
appropriate type.

• If a predicate p is associated with a

variable x of type X, then p is
unsatisfiable if, and only if,

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Satisfaction and validity
• Valid predicates and tautologies are
always true
• Satisfiable predicates and contingencies
are sometimes true and sometimes
false
• Unsatisfiable predicates and
contradictions are never true

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Exercise
• Everyone likes everyone
• Everyone likes someone
• Someone likes everyone
• Someone likes someone

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The negation of quantifiers
• The statement “some body like Brian”
may be expressed via predicate logic
as

• To negate this expression, we may

write as,

• which in natural language may be

expressed as “nobody likes Brian”
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The negation of quantifiers
• Logically saying “nobody likes Brian” is
equivalent to saying “everybody does not like
Brian”.
• The negation of quantifiers behaves exactly in
this fashion, just as in natural language,
“nobody likes Brian” and “everybody does not
like Brian” are equivalent so in predicate logic

• And

• are equivalent.
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The negation of quantifiers
• Law 5

• When negation is applied to a quantified

expression it flips quantifiers as it moves
inwards(i.e negation turns all universal
quantifiers to existential quantifiers and
vice versa, and negates all predicates)

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Free and bound variables
• Consider two predicates
• n>5…..Eq. 1

• In equation 1, n is free as its value

may not be determined or restricted

• In equation 2, the variable n is

bound, it is existentially quantified
variable.
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Free and bound variables
• Example

• In this statement, y and x are two variables. y

is universally quantified and it is bound, while
x is free variable.

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Substitution
• Consider statement,

• we may replace the name n with any term t,

This process is called substitution: the
expression p[t/n] denotes the fact that the
term t is being substituted for the variable
name n in the predicate p.

• Example, we may denote the substitution of 3

for n in the predicate n>5 by

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Substitution
• Also, we may denote the substitution of
3+4 for n in n>5 by
n>5[3+4/n]

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Substitution
• More than one substitution in case of more than
one free variable
• Consider predicate,
• Here x and y are both free variables. We may
substitute nigel for x as follows,

• Now substituting ken for y,

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Substitution
• Similarly, in one step, overall substitution
may be denoted as,

• These two substitutions take place

sequentially, first nigel is substituted for x,
then ken is substituted for y. However, for
simultaneous substitutions,

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 Substitution
• To illustrate the difference between sequential
and simultaneous substitution, consider the
example,

• In former there is only one occurrence of y and in

latter there are two occurrences of y
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Restriction
• Filters role in predicate logic
• Considering an example, all natural
numbers which are prime numbers and
are greater than 2 are odd, may be
written as,

• Using a filter, statement may be

written as,

• Form of restricted predicates as,

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Exercise
• Represent the following statement in
the form,

• Everyone who likes cheese likes pizza

• There is a person who likes cheese
that likes pizza
• Everyone who likes cheese also likes
pizza and likes bananas

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Solution

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Restriction
• Law 6

• Law 7

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Uniqueness
• Existential quantifier, allows us to
represent statements such as “there is
at least one x, such that…”.
• In order to be more specific, consider,
“there is exactly one x, such that…”
• Consider an example statement,

it is the case that the predicate x+1=1

is true for exactly one natural number:0
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Uniqueness
• The operator which allow us to state
that “ there is exactly one natural
number, x, is denoted as

• As an example,

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Uniqueness
• Assuming the statement

• The µ operator allows us to do exactly this,

the statement (µx:X | p) is read as “ the
unique x from set X such that p holds of x”

• Example, (µx:N | x+1=1) where µ is

associated with value 0

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Uniqueness
• On the other hand, µ expressions that are not
associated with a unique element generate an
undefined value.
• As an example, the µ expressions
(µn:N | n is even)
and
(µc:Country | population (c) > 10,000,000)
are both undefined

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Uniqueness
• Expressions of the form,

• return the result of applying the term t to

the unique element of the set X which
satisfies the predicate p

• gives the value Washington

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Uniqueness
• If there is no unique element which
possesses the relevant property, then the
result is undefined

• and

• are both undefined.

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Exercise
• Write the following in terms of µ
expressions
– The tallest mountain in the world
– The height of the tallest mountain
– The oldest person in the world
– The nationality of the oldest person in
the world

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Solution

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Equational Reasoning
• Two methods of reasoning

– Equational reasoning

– Natural deduction

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 8
If a predicate holds for all elements of a
set, then it holds for some of them

• Law 9
If a predicate holds for exactly one
element of a set, then it holds for at
least one of them

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 10
If p holds for all elements of X and t is of type
X, then p holds for t

Example,
The predicate
holds for all natural numbers. The term 3+4 is of
type N and as such,

holds.

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 11
This law states that if t is a term of
type X and p holds of t, then we can
conclude that p holds for some
elements of X

• Example
The proposition 7εN is true and
furthermore 7 is prime. As such,
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Equational Reasoning
• Law 16
It states that as x does not appear free
in q, the following holds

• Example,

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 17
It states that as x does not appear free
in q, the following holds,

• Example

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 18
It states as x does not appear free in q,
the following holds

• Example

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Equational Reasoning
• Law 19
It states as x does not appear free in q,
the following holds

• Example

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Equational Reasoning
• Example: A theorem in predicate
logic

• Proof:

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Equational Reasoning
• Example Theorem

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Exercise

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Solution

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Natural deduction
• Natural deduction can also be extended to
predicate logic
• Natural deduction rules for universal
quantification

• Rule1 states that if p holds for all values of

X, then provided that t is of type X- p holds
for t

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Natural deduction
• Example:
All natural numbers which are prime and
greater than 2 are odd. 7 is prime and greater
than 2 and we may conclude that it is odd.

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Natural deduction
• Rules for existential quantification
If xεX such that p holds for x, then if
we are able to define further
predicate, q in which x does not
appear free, then we may conclude
q

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Natural deduction
• Intro rule
• If p is true for any term t of set X, then
we conclude that, holds

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The one-point rule
• It states that p is a person that likes
chocolates, but also that the name of person
is Rick
• We can conclude that rick ε Person and rick
likes chocolates are both true

• Law 20

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The one-point rule
• Example

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Thank you!

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