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The word "logic" originates from the Greek word logos, which has a variety of translations, such as reason, discourse, or language. [4] Logic is traditionally defined as the study of the laws of thought or correct reasoning, [5] and is usually understood in terms of inferences or arguments. Reasoning is the activity of drawing inferences.
Logical reasoning is a form of thinking that is concerned with arriving at a conclusion in a rigorous way. [1] This happens in the form of inferences by transforming the information present in a set of premises to reach a conclusion.
In logic, a set of symbols is commonly used to express logical representation. The following table lists many common symbols, together with their name, how they should be read out loud, and the related field of mathematics .
A definition that provides a means for replacing each occurrence of the definiendum with an appropriate instance of the definiens. [131] [132] Contrast implicit definition. explosion The principle in logic that from a contradiction, any statement can be proven, related to the principle of ex falso quodlibet. exportation
Logic is the formal science of using reason and is considered a branch of both philosophy and mathematics and to a lesser extent computer science. Logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inference and the study of arguments in natural language .
Philosophy of logic is the area of philosophy that studies the nature of logic. [1] [2] Like many other disciplines, logic involves various philosophical presuppositions which are addressed by the philosophy of logic. [3]
In this way all logical connectives can be expressed in terms of preserving logical truth. The logical form of a sentence is determined by its semantic or syntactic structure and by the placement of logical constants. Logical constants determine whether a statement is a logical truth when they are combined with a language that limits its meaning.
Wherever logic is applied, especially in mathematical discussions, it has the same meaning as above: it is an abbreviation for if and only if, indicating that one statement is both necessary and sufficient for the other. This is an example of mathematical jargon (although, as noted above, if is more often used than iff in statements of definition).