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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.
In this sense, propositional logic is the foundation of first-order logic and higher-order logic. Propositional logic is typically studied with a formal language, [c] in which propositions are represented by letters, which are called propositional variables. These are then used, together with symbols for connectives, to make propositional formula.
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.) Through this construction, all ...
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.
A logical formula is considered to be in CNF if it is a conjunction of one or more disjunctions of one or more literals. As in disjunctive normal form (DNF), the only propositional operators in CNF are or ( ∨ {\displaystyle \vee } ), and ( ∧ {\displaystyle \wedge } ), and not ( ¬ {\displaystyle \neg } ).
Classical propositional calculus is the standard propositional logic. Its intended semantics is bivalent and its main property is that it is strongly complete, otherwise said that whenever a formula semantically follows from a set of premises, it also follows from that set syntactically. Many different equivalent complete axiom systems have ...
The connectives are usually taken to be logical constants, meaning that the meaning of the connectives is always the same, independent of what interpretations are given to the other symbols in a formula. This is how we define logical connectives in propositional logic: ¬Φ is True iff Φ is False. (Φ ∧ Ψ) is True iff Φ is True and Ψ is True.
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.