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In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic formula which is well formed. If the values of all variables in a propositional formula are given, it determines a unique truth value. A propositional formula may also be called a propositional expression, a sentence, [1] or a sentential formula.
The propositional calculus [a] is a branch of logic. [1] It is also called propositional logic, [2] statement logic, [1] sentential calculus, [3] sentential logic, [4] [1] or sometimes zeroth-order logic. [b] [6] [7] [8] Sometimes, it is called first-order propositional logic [9] to contrast it with System F, but it should not be confused with ...
In a given propositional logic, a formula can be defined as follows: Every propositional variable is a formula. Given a formula X, the negation ¬X is a formula. Given two formulas X and Y, and a binary connective b (such as the logical conjunction ∧), the expression (X b Y) is a formula. (Note the parentheses.)
An atomic formula is a formula that contains no logical connectives nor quantifiers, or equivalently a formula that has no strict subformulas. The precise form of atomic formulas depends on the formal system under consideration; for propositional logic , for example, the atomic formulas are the propositional variables .
These symbols are called logical connectives, logical operators, propositional operators, or, in classical logic, truth-functional connectives. For the rules which allow new well-formed formulas to be constructed by joining other well-formed formulas using truth-functional connectives, see well-formed formula .
In propositional logic, atomic formulas are sometimes regarded as zero-place predicates. [1] In a sense, these are nullary (i.e. 0-arity) predicates. In first-order logic, a predicate forms an atomic formula when applied to an appropriate number of terms.
The principle may be formally expressed as the propositional formula ¬¬P ⇒ P, equivalently (¬P ⇒ ⊥) ⇒ P, which reads: "If assuming P to be false implies falsehood, then P is true." In natural deduction the principle takes the form of the rule of inference
In propositional calculus, a propositional function or a predicate is a sentence expressed in a way that would assume the value of true or false, except that within the sentence there is a variable (x) that is not defined or specified (thus being a free variable), which leaves the statement undetermined.