Philosophy

Second Monthly Test

Truth Table

AND (·): The result is True (T) only if both P and Q are True. Otherwise, it's False (F).

OR (∨): The result is True if at least one of P or Q is True. It's only False if both are False.

Conditional (⇒): The result is False only when P is True and Q is False. In all other cases, it’s True.

Tri-bar (≡): Also known as logical equivalence, this is True if both P and Q have the same truth value (both
are True or False). Otherwise, it’s False.

Meaning of Symbols
→ - implies
∨ - and
¬ - not (negation)
≡ - tribar

For 2 variables (e.g., p,q): 2^2=4 rows

For 3 variables (e.g., p,q,r): 2^3=8 rows
For 4 variables (e.g., p,q,r,s): 2^4=16 rows
For 5 variables (e.g., p,q,r,s,t): 2^5=32 rows

1. Tautology
● It is also known as a tautologous proposition, which is a logical form that cannot be proven wrong
(no matter what truth values are assigned to the sentence letters).
○ You can try to verify this:
○ ((P • Q) ⊃ (P ∨ Q))
○ ((P ∨ Q) ≡ (Q ∨ P))

2. Contradiction
● It is also known as a self-contradictory proposition and has a logical form that can’t be true (no
matter what truth values are assigned to the sentence letters).
○ You can try to verify this:
○ ((P ∨ ~P) ⊃ (Q • ~Q))

3. Contingent
● It is also known as a self-contradictory proposition and has a logical form that can’t be true (no
matter what truth values are assigned to the sentence letters).
○ You can try to verify this:
○ (P ∨ Q)
○ ~ (P • Q)

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Forms of Validity (Elementary Valid Forms)

Modus Ponens (MP) (p → q)

p
∴q

Modus Tollens (MT) (p → q)

¬q
∴ ¬p

Hypothetical Syllogism (HS) (p → q)

(q → r)
∴ (p → r)

Disjunctive Syllogism (DS) (p ∨ q)

¬p
∴q

Constructive Dilemma (CD) (p → q)

(r → s)
(p ∨ r)
∴ (q ∨ s)

Destructive Dilemma (DD) (p → q)

(r → s)
(¬q ∨ ¬s)
∴ (¬p ∨ ¬r)

Simplification (Simp.) (p ∧ q)
∴p

Conjunction (Conj.) p,q

∴ (p ∧ q)

Addition (Add) p
∴ (p ∨ q)

In adding lines to make an argument valid:

1. A (Premise)
2. B (Premise)
3. A∨C(Addition from 1)
4. (A∨C)⋅B(Conjunction from 3, 2)

How?
1. Write the conclusion first
2. First, note that you already have B as a premise, so you don't need to derive that part.
3. Now, to get the other part of the conjunction 𝐴∨𝐶 you can use Addition. Addition allows you to introduce a
disjunction by adding any arbitrary proposition, in this case, C to a statement that's already true.
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4. Always think of what you can derive from the premise.

1. D⊃E (Premise)
2. D⋅F (Premise)
3. D (Simplification from 2)
4. E (Modus Ponens from 1, 3)

- D (Simplification from 2): From D ⋅ F, we can simplify it to just D since conjunction allows us to
isolate either component. So, D is true.

- E (Modus Ponens from 1 and 3): From D ⊃ E (If D, then E) and D (from step 3), we can apply
Modus Ponens, a valid rule of inference. Modus Ponens says that if D ⊃ E is true and D is true, then
E must also be true.

○ •
De Morgan’s Theorem (De M.) ¬(p • q) ≡ (¬p ∨ ¬q)
¬(p ∨ q) ≡ (¬p • ¬q)

Commutation (Com) (p ∨ q) ≡ (q ∨ p)
(p • q) ≡ (q • p)

Association (Assoc.) (p ∨ (q ∨ r)) ≡ ((p ∨ q) ∨ r)

(p • (q • r)) ≡ ((p • q) • r)

Distribution (Dist.) (p • (q ∨ r)) ≡ ((p • q) ∨ (p • r))

(p ∨ (q • r)) ≡ ((p ∨ q) • (p ∨ r))

Double Negation (D.N) p 𠪪p

Transposition (Trans) (p → q) ≡ (¬q → ¬p)

Material Implication (Impl) (p → q) ≡ (¬p ∨ q)

Material Equivalence (Equiv.) (p ≡ q) ≡ ((p → q) • (q → p))

(p ≡ q) ≡ ((p • q) ∨ (¬q • ¬p))

Exportation (Exp) ((p • q) → r) ≡ (p → (q → r))

Tautology (Taut) p ≡ (p ∨ p)
p ≡ (p • p)
1. Statement: (P ≡ Q) ⊢ (P • Q) ∨ (¬P • ¬Q)
Explanation: Material Equivalence allows us to express a biconditional (P ≡ Q) as either both P and Q
being true or both being false. This captures the idea that P and Q have the same truth value.
2. Statement: (P ∨ (Q • R)) ⊢ (P ∨ Q) • (P ∨ R)
Explanation: Distribution allows us to distribute a disjunction over a conjunction. In this case, distributing P
across the conjunction Q • R results in two separate disjunctions, (P ∨ Q) and (P ∨ R).
3. Statement: ¬(P • Q) ⊢ ¬P ∨ ¬Q
Explanation: De Morgan’s Theorem converts the negation of a conjunction into a disjunction of the
negations. If ¬(P • Q) is true, it means at least one of ¬P or ¬Q must be true.

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