Introduction to Logic

Topics for discussion:

8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
8.9 Logical Equivalence
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
A. What is a Statement Form?
- A statement form is any sequence of symbols containing
statement variables but no statements, such that when
statements are substituted for the statement variables
the result is a statement.
- A statement form is a symbolic representation of a
compound statement. It consists of statement variables
along with logical connectives joining them.
Thus, p v q is a statement form.
What are the Statement Forms?
Name Definition Statement Name of the
Form Symbol
Disjunctive where the resulting (p v q) Disjunction
statement forms statement is disjunction.

Conjunctive where the resulting (p q) Conjunction

statement forms statement is
conjunction.
Conditional where the resulting (p q) Condition/
statement forms statement is Implication
implication.
Negation form or where the resulting (~p) Negation
Denial form statement is negation.
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
B. Tautologous, Contradictory, and Contingent
Statement Forms
1. Tautologous statement forms or Tautology
A statement form that has only true substitution instances.
A formula that is true in every possible interpretation.

p q pvq
T F T
F T T
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence

2. Self-contradictory or Contradictory statement

forms
A statement form that has only false substitution
instance.
Example: (p ~p)
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence

3. Contingent statement forms

Statement forms that have both true and false
statements.
Examples:
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
What is a material equivalence?
- It is a truth-functional connective just as
disjunction, conjunction, and material implication.
- Two statements are materially equivalent when
they are both true, or both false.
- The statements they connect have the same truth
value.
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
- The symbol for material equivalence is a three-bar sign or
tribar .
Thus, the truth table of material equivalence is:
P q pq
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T
8.8 Statement Forms and Material
Equivalence
- p is true if q is true or we could say p is true only if q is
true therefore we could read the three-bar sign as if and
only if.
Example:
I will go to the championship game if and only if I acquire a
ticket.
Meaning: I will go if I do acquire a ticket, but I can go only if
I acquire a ticket.
- It is also often called a biconditional because every
material equivalent entails the truth of the conditional A
B, and also B A.
TO SUMMARIZE:
There are four truth-functional connectives: Conjunction, Disjunction,
Material implication/Conditional, and Material equivalence.
The Four Truth-Functional Connectives
Truth- Symbol and its Proposition Names of Example
Functional name Type component of
Connective Propositions of that
type
And (dot) Conjunction Conjuncts Carol is mean and Bob
sings the blues. ( C B)
Or v (wedge) Disjunction Disjuncts Carol is mean or Tyrell is
a music lover. ( C v T)
Ifthen ( horseshoe) Conditional Antecedent, If Bob sings the blues,
consequent then Myrna gets moody.
(BM)
If and only if (tribar) Biconditional Components Myrna gets moody if and
only if Bob sings the
blues. (MB)
Arguments, Conditional statements, and
Tautologies
- To every argument there corresponds a conditional
statement whose antecedent is the conjunction of the
arguments premises and whose consequent is the
arguments conclusion.
- The argument form is:
pq
p [(p q) p] q
Therefore, q
- If the conjunction of the premise implies the conclusion
will (if the argument is valid) have all and only true
instances. Thus, it is shown to be a tautology.
8.9 Logical Equivalence
What is Logical Equivalence?
- Two statements with equivalent meaning and same truth
values.
So, whats the difference between Material equivalence and
Logical equivalence?
1. Material equivalence is a truth-functional connective but
the logical equivalence is not a connective and expresses a
relation between two statements that is not truth-
functional.
8.9 Logical Equivalence
2. In logical equivalence, the statements always have the
same truth value, the same meaning, and in this case
may be substituted with one another. In material
equivalence, the statements always have the same truth
value, have different meaning, and definitely may not be
substituted with one another.
Thus, in logical equivalence, there will not be a case
where one statement is true and the other is false.
It is tautologous.
Logical equivalence is also material equivalence because
they have the same truth-values.
8.9 Logical Equivalence
Example:
In material equivalence:
(Jupiter is larger than earth and Tokyo is the capital of Japan)
They are materially equivalent because they are both true however,
they cannot be substituted to one another because each have different
meaning.
In logical equivalence:
(He is aware of the difficulty and He is not unaware of the
difficulty)
Either statement may be replaced by one another because they both
say the same thing.
What is a Logical
Equivalence?
- Two statements are logically equivalent if the
statement of their material equivalence is a tautology.
Also known as tautologous biconditional.
- We use the three-bar with a small T above it indicating
that logical relationship that the material equivalence of
the two statement is tautology. For some authors, they
use the symbol .
8.9 Logical Equivalence: The principle of
double negation
What is double negation?
- It is a grammatical construction occurring when two forms of negation are
used in the same sentence.
- Thus, in the principle of double negation, statement p and ~~p are logically
equivalent. This principle is now symbolized as (p ~~p)
- Truth table is:
p ~p ~~p p ~~p
T F T T
F T F T
Example: The law is constitutional. and The law is not unconstitutional.
8.9 Logical Equivalence: De Morgans
Theorem
- This is formally stated by the mathematician and
logician Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871).
- It has a two well-known logical equivalence or logically
true biconditionals is of great importance because they
express the interrelations among conjunction and
disjunction, and their negations.
8.9 Logical Equivalence: De Morgans
Theorem

1. The negation of the disjunction of two statements is

logically equivalent to the conjunction of the negations
of the two statements;
- In symbols, ~(p v q) (~p ~q)
- Any disjunction p v q asserts that at least one of its
disjunct is true but we cannot assert that at least one of its
disjunct is false because in order for a disjunction to be
true, at least one of the disjunct is true. Thus, we can only
assert that both disjuncts are false.
8.9 Logical Equivalence: De Morgans
Theorem
Truth Table:

p q p v q ~(p v q) ~p ~q ~p ~q ~(p v q)
(~p ~q)
T T T F F F F T
T F T F F T F T
F T T F T F F T
F F F T T T T T

(In this case, whatever the truth values of p and q, this biconditional
must always be true. It is a tautology)
8.9 Logical Equivalence: De Morgans
Theorem
2. The negation of the conjunction of two statements is
logically equivalent to the disjunction of the negation
of the two statements.
In symbols, ~(p q) (~p v ~q)
Any conjunction of p and q asserts that both are true
thus, we can contradict this assertion by merely asserting
that at least one is false.
8.9 Logical Equivalence: De Morgans
Theorem
Truth Table:

p q p q ~(p q) ~p ~q ~p v ~q ~(p q)
(~p v ~q)
T T T F F F F T
T F F T F T T T
F T F T T F T T
F F F T T T T T
(In this case, whatever the truth values of p and q, this
biconditional must always be true. It is a tautology.)
8.9 Logical Equivalence: Material Implication

In chapter 8.03, any conditional statement If p, then q,

is known to be false if the conjunction p ~q is true.
That is, if its antecedent is true and its consequent is
false
Thus, the negation ~ (p ~q) is true.
In other words, for any conditional If p, then q, to be
true, ~ (p ~q) must also be true.
We can say now, that p q is said to be the same as
~ (p ~q).
8.9 Logical Equivalence: Material Implication

Applying the De Morgans theorem, we also said that

~ (p ~q) is logically equivalent to (~p v ~~q).
Then, applying the principle of double negation,
(~p v ~~q) will result to (~p v q).
- In symbols, we can now write: (p q) (~p v q).
In summary:
(p q) = ~(p ~q)
~(p ~q) = (~p v ~~q)
(~p v ~~q) = (~p v q)
Therefore, (p q) (~p v q)
8.9 Logical Equivalence: Material Implication

To check, here is the truth table:

p q pq ~p (~p v q) (p q)
(~p v q)
T T T F T T
T F F F F T
F T T T T T
F F T T T T
(Again, whatever the truth values of p and q, this
biconditional must always be true and it is another form
of tautology.)
8.9 Logical Equivalence: Paradoxical
Statements

The if-then relation in this sense has consequences that

may seem paradoxical. Paradoxical means a statement
that is opposed to common sense and is perhaps true.
For Example:
The moon is made of green cheese, then the earth is
round (It follows the 4th column of the truth table which
assert that this statement is True).
8.9 Logical Equivalence: Paradoxical
Statements
How do we solve this?
We have to borne in mind that material implication is a truth
function and the meaning of the statements is strictly
irrelevant.
Also, the material implication must be understood that to say p
implies q is only to say that either p is false or q is true.
In the given example, applying the logical equivalent to Either
the moon is not made of green cheese or the earth is round
that is most certainly true. A true statement materially implies
any statement whatever and a false statement materially
implies any statement whatever.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought

Some early thinkers defined logic as the science of the

laws of thought and asserted that there are three basic
laws of thought that is both the necessary and the
sufficient condition of correct thinking.
These are also principles governing the construction of
truth tables.
These are:
1. The principle of Identity
2. The principle of noncontradiction
3. The principle of excluded middle
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
principle of Identity

This principle asserts that if any statement is true then it

is true. Meaning once having put T under a symbol in a
given row, then when we encounter that symbol in other
column of that row, we regard it as still being assigned as
T.
Every statement of the form p q must be true and is a
tautology.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
principle of Identity
Problem:
Some thinkers claimed that in fact this principle is not
true on the ground that things change, and are always
changing. But this is a misunderstanding because such
statements are true but is incomplete.
Example:
The statement There were only 13 states in the United
States is no longer true today but this does not
undermine the principle of identity because this is only an
incomplete statement of There were only 13 states in
the United States in 1790.
That statement is now as true today as it was in 1790.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
Principle of Noncontradiction
This principle asserts that no statement can be both true
and false.
Meaning, we cannot put both T and F in the initial
columns of each row in the truth table.
Every statement form p ~p must be false because such
statement will be self-contradictory.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
Principle of Noncontradiction
Problem:
Hegelians and Marxists said that genuine contradiction is
everywhere pervasive that the world is replete with the
inevitable conflict of contradictory forces.
It is true that there are conflicting forces in this world
but to call this contradictories is not proper. Labour unions
and the private owners of industrial plants may have
themselves in conflict neither the owner nor the union is
the negation or denial or the contradictory of the other.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
Principle of Excluded Middle

This principle asserts that every statement is either true

or false.
Thus, every statement form p v ~p must be true and is a
tautology.
In the initial columns of each row of a table, we place
either T or an F.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought: The
Principle of Excluded Middle
Problem:
It is object to much criticism on the ground that it leads
to a two-valued orientation which implies that things in
this world must be either black or white (Everything in
this world belongs to the same class) which hinders the
realization of compromise.
This is said to be another misunderstanding. The
statement This is either black or white where this
refers to the same thing cannot both be true but can both
be false. This statements are contraries and not
contradictories thus, one of them must be true and the
other is false.
8.10 The Three Laws of Thought:

These three principles are unobjectionable so

long as they are applied to statements
containing unambiguous and precise terms.