Propositional Logic

Rosen 5th ed., 1.1-1.2

Foundations of Logic: Overview

Propositional logic:
Basic definitions.
Equivalence rules & derivations.

Predicate logic
Predicates.
Quantified predicate expressions.
Equivalences & derivations.
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Propositional Logic
Propositional Logic is the logic of compound
statements built from simpler statements
using Boolean connectives.
Applications:
Design of digital electronic circuits.
Expressing conditions in programs.
Queries to databases & search engines.
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Definition of a Proposition
A proposition (p, q, r, ) is simply a
statement (i.e., a declarative sentence) with
a definite meaning, having a truth value
thats either true (T) or false (F) (never
both, neither, or somewhere in between).
[In probability theory, we assign degrees of certainty
to propositions. For now: True/False only!]
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Examples of Propositions

It is raining. (Given a situation.)

Beijing is the capital of China.
1 + 2 = 3
The following are NOT propositions:
Whos there? (interrogative, question)
La la la la la. (meaningless interjection)
Just do it! (imperative, command)
Yeah, I sorta dunno, whatever... (vague)
1 + 2 (expression with a non-true/false value) 5

Operators / Connectives
An operator or connective combines one or
more operand expressions into a larger
expression. (E.g., + in numeric exprs.)
Unary operators take 1 operand (e.g., -3);
binary operators take 2 operands (eg 3 4).
Propositional or Boolean operators operate on
propositions or truth values instead of on
numbers.
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The Negation Operator

The unary negation operator (NOT)
transforms a prop. into its logical negation.
E.g. If p = I have brown hair.
then p = I do not have brown hair.
p p
Truth table for NOT:
T F
F T
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The Conjunction Operator

The binary conjunction operator (AND)
combines two propositions to form their
logical conjunction.
E.g. If p=I will have salad for lunch. and
q=I will have steak for dinner., then
pq=I will have salad for lunch and
I will have steak for dinner.
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Conjunction Truth Table

Note that a
p q
pq
conjunction
F F
F
p1 p 2 p n
F T
F
of n propositions
T
F
F
will have 2n rows
T
T
T
in its truth table.
and operations together are universal,
i.e., sufficient to express any truth table!
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The Disjunction Operator

The binary disjunction operator (OR)
combines two propositions to form their
logical disjunction.
p=That car has a bad engine.
q=That car has a bad carburetor.
pq=Either that car has a bad engine, or
that car has a bad carburetor.
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Disjunction Truth Table

Note that pq means
p q p q
that p is true, or q is
F F F
true, or both are true!
F T T
So this operation is
T F T
also called inclusive or,
T T T
because it includes the
possibility that both p and q are true.
and together are also universal.
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A Simple Exercise
Let p=It rained last night,
q=The sprinklers came on last night,
r=The lawn was wet this morning.
Translate each of the following into English:
p
= It didnt rain last night.
The lawn was wet this morning, and
r p
= it didnt rain last night.
r p q = Either the lawn wasnt wet this
morning, or it rained last night, or
the sprinklers came on last night.

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The Exclusive Or Operator

The binary exclusive-or operator (XOR)
combines two propositions to form their
logical exclusive or (exjunction?).
p = I will earn an A in this course,
q = I will drop this course,
p q = I will either earn an A for this
course, or I will drop it (but not both!)
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Exclusive-Or Truth Table

Note that pq means
p q pq
that p is true, or q is
F F F
true, but not both!
F T T
This operation is
T F T
called exclusive or,
T T F
because it excludes the
possibility that both p and q are true.
and together are not universal.
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Natural Language is Ambiguous

Note that English or is by itself ambiguous
p q p or q
regarding the both case!
F F
F
Pat is a singer or
F T
T
Pat is a writer. -
T F
T
Pat is a man or
T T undef.
Pat is a woman. -
Need context to disambiguate the meaning!
For this class, assume or means inclusive.

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The Implication Operator

The implication p q states that p implies q.
It is FALSE only in the case that p is TRUE
but q is FALSE.
E.g., p=I am elected.
q=I will lower taxes.
p q = If I am elected, then I will lower
taxes (else it could go either way)
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Implication Truth Table

p q pq
p q is false only when
p is true but q is not true.
F F
T
F T T
p q does not imply
T F
F
that p causes q!
T T T
p q does not imply
that p or q are ever true!
E.g. (1=0) pigs can fly is TRUE!
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Examples of Implications
If this lecture ends, then the sun will rise
tomorrow. True or False?
If Tuesday is a day of the week, then I am a
penguin. True or False?
If 1+1=6, then George passed the exam.
True or False?
If the moon is made of green cheese, then I
am richer than Bill Gates. True or False?
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Inverse, Converse, Contrapositive

Some terminology:
The inverse of p q is: p q
The converse of p q is: q p.
The contrapositive of p q is: q p.
One of these has the same meaning (same
truth table) as p q. Can you figure out
which?
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How do we know for sure?

Proving the equivalence of p q and its
contrapositive using truth tables:

p
F
F
T
T

q
F
T
F
T

q
T
F
T
F

p
T
T
F
F

pq q p
T
T
T
T
F
F
T
T
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The biconditional operator

The biconditional p q states that p is true if
and only if (IFF) q is true.
It is TRUE when both p q and q p are
TRUE.
p = It is raining.
q = The home team wins.
p q = If and only if it is raining, the home
team wins.
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Biconditional Truth Table

p q means that p and q
have the same truth value.
Note this truth table is the
exact opposite of s!
p q means (p q)

p
F
F
T
T

q pq
F T
T F
F F
T T

p q does not imply

p and q are true, or cause each other.

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Boolean Operations Summary

We have seen 1 unary operator (4 possible)
and 5 binary operators (16 possible).

p
F
F
T
T

q
F
T
F
T

p pq pq pq pq pq
T F
F
F
T
T
T F
T
T
T
F
F F
T
T
F
F
F T
T
F
T
T

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Precedence of Logical Operators

Operator

Precedence

2
3

4
5
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Nested Propositional Expressions

Use parentheses to group sub-expressions:
I just saw my old friend, and either hes
grown or Ive shrunk. = f (g s)
(f g) s would mean something different
f g s would be ambiguous

By convention, takes precedence over

both and .
s f means (s) f , not (s f)
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Some Alternative Notations

Name:
Propositional logic:
Boolean algebra:
C/C++/Java (wordwise):
C/C++/Java (bitwise):

not and or

p pq +
! && ||
~ & |

xor implies

!=
^

iff

==

Logic gates:

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Tautologies and Contradictions

A tautology is a compound proposition that is
true no matter what the truth values of its
atomic propositions are!
Ex. p p [What is its truth table?]
A contradiction is a comp. prop. that is false
no matter what! Ex. p p [Truth table?]
Other comp. props. are contingencies.
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Propositional Equivalence
Two syntactically (i.e., textually) different
compound propositions may be
semantically identical (i.e., have the same
meaning). We call them equivalent. Learn:
Various equivalence rules or laws.
How to prove equivalences using symbolic
derivations.
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Proving Equivalences
Compound propositions p and q are logically
equivalent to each other IFF p and q contain
the same truth values as each other in all
rows of their truth tables.
Compound proposition p is logically
equivalent to compound proposition q,
written pq, IFF the compound
proposition pq is a tautology.
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Proving Equivalence
via Truth Tables
Ex. Prove that pq (p q).
p
F
F
T
T

q
F
T
F
T

pq p q p q (p q)

F
T
T
T

T T
T F
F T
F F

T
F
F
F

F
T
T
T
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Equivalence Laws
These are similar to the arithmetic identities
you may have learned in algebra, but for
propositional equivalences instead.
They provide a pattern or template that can
be used to match much more complicated
propositions and to find equivalences for
them.
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Equivalence Laws - Examples

Identity:
p T p
p F p
Domination:
p T T p F F
Idempotent:
p p p
p p p
Double negation:
p p
Commutative: pq qp pq qp
Associative:
( p q ) r p ( q r )
(pq)r p(qr)
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More Equivalence Laws

Distributive:

p(qr) (pq)(pr)
p(qr) (pq)(pr)

De Morgans:
(pq) p q
(pq) p q

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More Equivalence Laws

Absorption:
p(pq) p
p (p q) p
Trivial tautology/contradiction:
p p T
p p F
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Defining Operators via Equivalences

Using equivalences, we can define operators
in terms of other operators.
Implication:
pq p q
Biconditional: pq (pq) (qp)
pq (pq)
Exclusive or: pq (pq)(pq)
pq (pq)(qp)
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An Example Problem
Check using a symbolic derivation whether
(p q) (p r) p q r.
(p q) (p r)
[Expand definition of ] (p q) (p r)
[Defn. of ] (p q) ((p r) (p r))
[DeMorgans Law]
(p q) ((p r) (p r))

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Example Continued...
(p q) ((p r) (p r)) [ commutes]
(q p) ((p r) (p r)) [ associative]
q (p ((p r) (p r))) [distrib. over ]
q (((p (p r)) (p (p r)))
[assoc.] q (((p p) r) (p (p r)))
[trivial taut.] q ((T r) (p (p r)))
[domination] q (T (p (p r)))
[identity]
q (p (p r)) cont.
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End of Long Example

q (p (p r))
[DeMorgans] q (p (p r))
[Assoc.]
q ((p p) r)
[Idempotent] q (p r)
[Assoc.]
(q p) r
[Commut.]
p q r
Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum)
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