Sneak Preview: Symbolic Logic Study Guide

Sneak Preview
Symbolic Logic Study Guide

By Xinli Wang
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SYMBOLIC LOGIC
STUDY GUIDE
Designed to accompany the textbook Language, Proof and Logic,
by Jon Barwise and John Etchemendy, CSLI Publications 2003
By Xinli Wang, Ph.D.

Juniata College
Copyright © 2009 by Xinli Wang. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted,
reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any
information retrieval system without the written permission of University Reader Company, Inc.
First published in the United States of America in 2009 by University Reader Company, Inc.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
13 12 11 10 09 12345
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-934269-79-4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Class Notes .............................................................................................. 1

Section 1: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
Section 2: Atomic Sentences ................................................................................ 5

2.1. The Basic Structure of Atomic Sentences ............................................... 5
2.2. Translating Simple English Sentences into Logical Notation ................... 9
2.3. Methods of Proof ................................................................................. 10
2.4. Formal Proofs ...................................................................................... 13
Section 3: Conjunctions, Disjunctions, and Negations ........................................ 16

3.1. Introduction to Conjunctions, Disjunctions, and Negations ................... 16
3.2. Logical Equivalency ............................................................................. 19
3.3. Translation ........................................................................................... 22
3.4. Formal Proofs ...................................................................................... 24
Section 4: Conditionals and Biconditionals ........................................................ 30

4.1. Material Conditional/Biconditional Symbols ......................................... 30
4.2. Formal Proofs Involving the Conditional .............................................. 33
Section 5: Introduction to Quantification ........................................................... 36

5.1. Basic Components of FOL ................................................................... 36
5.2. Semantics for the Quantifiers ............................................................... 39
5.3. Translation of Sentences with Quantifiers ............................................ 41
5.4. Logical Equivalence Involving Quantifiers ........................................... 47
5.5. Multiple Quantifiers .............................................................................. 54
Section 6: Formal Proofs Involving Quantifiers ................................................ 59
Section 7: Some Specific Uses of Quantifiers .................................................... 62

7.1. Numerical Claims ................................................................................ 62
7.2. Definite Descriptions ........................................................................... 65
Part II. Practice Quizzes ........................................................................................ 67

Section 1: Quizzes ............................................................................................. 67
Quiz One ..................................................................................................... 67
Quiz Two ..................................................................................................... 68
Quiz Three ................................................................................................... 69
Quiz Four .................................................................................................... 70
Quiz Five ..................................................................................................... 72
Quiz Six ....................................................................................................... 73
Quiz Seven ................................................................................................. 74
Quiz Eight ................................................................................................... 75
ii
Quiz Nine .................................................................................................... 76
Quiz ten ....................................................................................................... 77
Quiz Eleven ................................................................................................. 78
Quiz Twelve ................................................................................................ 79
Section 2: Solutions to Quizzes .......................................................................... 81

Quiz One Solutions ...................................................................................... 81
Quiz Two Solutions ..................................................................................... 82
Quiz Three Solutions ................................................................................... 83
Quiz Four Solutions ..................................................................................... 84
Quiz Five Solutions ...................................................................................... 86
Quiz Six Solutions ....................................................................................... 87
Quiz Seven Solutions ................................................................................... 88
Quiz Eight Solutions .................................................................................... 90
Quiz Nine Solutions ..................................................................................... 91
Quiz Ten Solutions ...................................................................................... 93
Quiz Eleven Solutions .................................................................................. 97
Quiz Twelve Solutions ................................................................................. 99
iii
Symbolic Logic Study Guide: Class Notes 1
PART I: CLASS NOTES

This part contains the instructor’s class notes for the course.
Section 1: Introduction (refer to pp. 1-10, 2.1 of LPL)

1. What is logic?
Arguments
(1) Some examples of arguments
Mary will marry John only if John loves her.

John loves Mary.
Therefore, Mary will marry John.
All human beings are mortal.

Socrates is a human being.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
If you can win the game, I would be the uncle of a monkey.

......
(Therefore, you will not win the game.)
I will die if I am killed.

I am not killed.
Therefore, I will not die.
All the students in the room are logic students.

Some logic students are really boring.
Some students in the room are boring.
Swan a is white.
Swan b is white.
......
Swan n is white.
Therefore, all swans are white.
(2) Components of arguments
Definition: An argument is a group of statements, one or more of which (the premises) are
claimed to provide support for, or reasons to believe, one of the others (the conclusion).
2 Symbolic Logic Study Guide: Class Notes
The structure of an argument:
Premise 1
Premise 2
support
Conclusion
Premises provide some grounds (not necessarily guarantee) for the truths of the conclusion. There is
an inferential relationship between premises and conclusion.
(3) Deductive vs. Inductive Arguments: …
A definition:
Logic is the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish good / cogent from bad
/fallacious argument.
2. How to evaluate (deductive) arguments: validity and soundness
Two basic criteria of evaluation
Validity--the inferential relationship between Ps and C: Whether

An Argument Ps support C and to what extent?
Soundness—the status of premises: whether Ps are true or acceptable?
A good argument: (a) All Ps are acceptable (true) and (b) Ps support C to the extent that if all Ps are
true, then it is impossible for C to be false.
Validity
Definitions:
An Argument is valid if and only if it is logically impossible for the conclusion to be false if
all the premises to be true.
An argument is valid iff the truths of the premises guarantee the truth of the conclusion.
A few feature of validity:

Truth-preserving: from the truth of the premises to the truth of the conclusion.
Truth
premises conclusion
Hypothetical situation: Suppose / assume that all the premises are true, not that all the
premises are actually true. For example, the following argument is valid although all the
premises are actually false:
Symbolic Logic Study Guide: Class Notes 3
All cats are sea creatures. (False)

All sea creatures are clod-blooded killers. (False)
All cats are cold-blooded killers. (False)
All or nothing issue: validity has no degree.

Validity of an argument is determined by the form of the argument only (the inferential
relation between the conclusion and the premises). Validity of an argument has nothing to do
with the contents, and therefore the actual truth-values, of the premises and the conclusion.
Examples:
Argument Form Arguments in English
All cats are sea creatures. (F)

All sea creatures are blue. (F)
Valid Form All cats are blue. (F)
All S are M All cats are sea creatures. (F)

All M are P All sea creatures are mammals. (F)
All S are P All cats are mammals. (T)
All cats are mammals. (T)

All mammals are animals. (T)
All cats are animals. (T)
All cats are mammals. (T) All cats are sea creatures. (F)
Invalid Form All dogs are mammals. (T) All dogs are sea creatures. (F)
All S are M All cats are dogs. (F) All cats are dogs. (F)
All P are M
All cats are animals. (T) All cats are females. (F)
All S are P. All mammals are animals. (T) All mammals are females. (F)
Al cats are mammals. (T) All cats are mammals. (T)
Soundness
Definition: An argument is sound iff it is valid and all its premises are true.
Soundness = validity + truth of Ps.
3. How to determine whether an argument is valid?

Two steps of evaluation of validity:
Step I—Symbolization / translation: symbolize arguments in English into logical notation.

4 Symbolic Logic Study Guide: Class Notes
Example:
Argument in English Argument in Logical notions
Mary will marry John only if John loves her. Marry (Mary, John) Love (John, Mary)
John loves Mary. Love (John Mary)
Therefore, Mary will marry John. Marry (Mary, John)
M L
L
All the students in the room are logic students. x [(S (x) I (x)) L (x)]
Some logic students are really boring. x [L (x) B (x)]
Some students in the room are boring. x [(S (x) I (x)) B (x) ]
Step II—Formal proof: using some formal methods to determine the validity of the argument in
logical notion.
truth-tree method
Formal methods truth-table method
natural derivation

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Sneak Preview

Symbolic Logic Study Guide

Included in this preview:

For additional information on adopting this

By Xinli Wang, Ph.D.

Printed in the United States of America

Part I: Class Notes .............................................................................................. 1

Section 2: Atomic Sentences ................................................................................ 5

Section 3: Conjunctions, Disjunctions, and Negations ........................................ 16

Section 4: Conditionals and Biconditionals ........................................................ 30

Section 5: Introduction to Quantification ........................................................... 36

Section 6: Formal Proofs Involving Quantifiers ................................................ 59

Section 7: Some Specific Uses of Quantifiers .................................................... 62

Part II. Practice Quizzes ........................................................................................ 67

Section 2: Solutions to Quizzes .......................................................................... 81

PART I: CLASS NOTES

Section 1: Introduction (refer to pp. 1-10, 2.1 of LPL)

Mary will marry John only if John loves her.

Therefore, Mary will marry John.

All human beings are mortal.

Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

If you can win the game, I would be the uncle of a monkey.

(Therefore, you will not win the game.)

I will die if I am killed.

Therefore, I will not die.

All the students in the room are logic students.

Some students in the room are boring.

Therefore, all swans are white.

(2) Components of arguments

The structure of an argument:

(3) Deductive vs. Inductive Arguments: …

2. How to evaluate (deductive) arguments: validity and soundness

Two basic criteria of evaluation

Validity--the inferential relationship between Ps and C: Whether

Soundness—the status of premises: whether Ps are true or acceptable?

A few feature of validity:

All cats are sea creatures. (False)

All cats are cold-blooded killers. (False)

All or nothing issue: validity has no degree.

Argument Form Arguments in English

All cats are sea creatures. (F)

Valid Form All cats are blue. (F)

All S are M All cats are sea creatures. (F)

All S are P All cats are mammals. (T)

All cats are mammals. (T)

All cats are animals. (T)

Al cats are mammals. (T) All cats are mammals. (T)

Soundness = validity + truth of Ps.

3. How to determine whether an argument is valid?

Step I—Symbolization / translation: symbolize arguments in English into logical notation.

Argument in English Argument in Logical notions

Therefore, Mary will marry John. Marry (Mary, John)

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