Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The simplest type of formula in logic, consisting of a single predicate applied to a sequence of terms without any logical connectives. atomic sentence A sentence that contains no logical connectives or quantifiers, expressing a basic statement about objects. autological A term that describes itself. For example, the word "short" is autological ...
The following example in first-order logic (=) is a sentence. This sentence means that for every y, there is an x such that =. This sentence is true for positive real numbers, false for real numbers, and true for complex numbers. However, the formula
In the latter case, a (declarative) sentence is just one way of expressing an underlying statement. A statement is what a sentence means, it is the notion or idea that a sentence expresses, i.e., what it represents. For example, it could be said that "2 + 2 = 4" and "two plus two equals four" are two different sentences expressing the same ...
For example, if the formula () stands for the sentence "Socrates is a banker" then the formula articulates the sentence "It is possible that Socrates is a banker". [127] To include these symbols in the logical formalism, modal logic introduces new rules of inference that govern what role they play in inferences.
For example, 2+2 is a ground term and hence also a linear term, x⋅(n+1) is a linear term, n⋅(n+1) is a non-linear term. These properties are important in, for example, term rewriting. Given a signature for the function symbols, the set of all terms forms the free term algebra. The set of all ground terms forms the initial term algebra.
In this example, both sentences happen to have the common form () for some individual , in the first sentence the value of the variable x is "Socrates", and in the second sentence it is "Plato". Due to the ability to speak about non-logical individuals along with the original logical connectives, first-order logic includes propositional logic.
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.
Logical reasoning happens by inferring a conclusion from a set of premises. [3] Premises and conclusions are normally seen as propositions. A proposition is a statement that makes a claim about what is the case. In this regard, propositions act as truth-bearers: they are either true or false. [18] [19] [3] For example, the sentence "The water ...