Logical Equivalence

& Debate of
Arguments
In some two different compound
cases,
propositions have the same truth values no
matter what the truth values their
constituent propositions have.
These propositions are said to be
logically equivalent.
Logical Equivalence

Suppose that the compound propositions P and Q are made

up of the propositions p1,. . ., pn.
We say that P and Q are logically equivalent and write
P ≡ Q,
provided that given any truth values of p1,. . ., pn, either P
and Q are both true or P and Q are both false.
De Morgan’s Laws for Logic

P:(p Ѵ q)’ ≡Q: p’ Λ q’

(p Λ q)’ ≡ p’
Ѵ q’
 Truth table:

Thus P and Q are

logically
equivalent.
Show that the negation of p → q is
logically equivalent to p ∧ ¬q

P = ¬(p → q)
Q = p ∧ ¬q

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Show that the negation of p → q is
logically equivalent to p ∧ ¬q

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Practice

p  q ≡ (p  q) Λ (q  p)

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Arguments

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Arguments

Philosophers use arguments to prove

things.

So we have two questions:

• What is an argument?
• What is proof?

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An Argument
In philosophy when we talk about an argument
we don’t mean a row between two people
It’s means the same as when we say you
“argue” your point of view.
An alternative word for argument is a proof.
A Proof
Quotes linked with proofs...
a proof is that which results from a valid argument
constructed from a set of true premises.

Or to put more simply....

Proof: Any effort, process, or operation designed to
establish or discover a fact or truth.
The Proof Formula
A proof is made up of P . P = C

P = a premise. A premise is a statement about

something, e.g “Mary is a wife”.
C = a conclusion.

So…
P . P = C Mary is a
Mary is a wife
married woman.

. A wife is a
married woman =
Draw conclusion?

The bug is either in module 17 or in module

81.
The bug is a numerical error.
Module 81 has no numerical error.
Assuming that these statements are true, it is
reasonable to conclude
The bug is in module 17.

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Arguments

This process of drawing a conclusion from a sequence of

propositions is called deductive reasoning.
The given propositions, are called hypotheses or premises,
and the proposition that follows from the hypotheses, is called
the conclusion.
A (deductive) argument consists of hypotheses together with
a conclusion.
Any argument has the form
If p1 and p2 and · · · and pn, then q.
Argument is said to be valid if the conclusion follows from
the hypotheses; that is, if p1 and p2 and · · · and pn are true,
then q must also be true.
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Arguments

The argument is valid provided that if p1 and p2 and · · · and

pn are all true, then q must also be true; otherwise, the
argument is invalid (or a fallacy).

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Example

Determine whether the argument is valid.

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Solution

Drawing truth table first.

We observe that whenever the hypotheses p → q and p are true,

the conclusion q is also true; therefore, the argument is valid.

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Writing Arguments Symbolically

If the computer has one gigabyte of memory,

then it can run “Blast ’em.” If the computer
can run “Blast ’em,” then the sonics will be
impressive. Therefore, if the computer has one
gigabyte of memory, then the sonics will be
impressive.

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Writing Arguments symbolically

p : The computer has one gigabyte of memory.

q: The computer can run ‘Blast ’em,’
r: The sonics will be impressive.

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Exercise

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Solution

p: 2 =3
q: I ate my hat.
Symbolically:

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Solution

Drawing Truth Table

p q p→q q p
T T T T T
T F F F T
F T T T F
F F T F F

So arguments are invalid or fallacy.

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Another Exercise

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Solution

Symbolically:

(p v r) → q
q
___________
΅ p’ → r

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Result

p q r pvr p' (p v r)→q q p‘ →r

T T T T F T T T
T T F T F T T T
T F T T F F F T
T F F T F F F T
F T T T T T T T
F T F F T T T F
F F T T T F F T
F F F F T T F F

So arguments are invalid or fallacy.

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Consistent & Inconsistent Arguments

The diagnostic message is stored in buffer or it

is retransmitted.
The diagnostic message is not stored in buffer.
If diagnostic message is stored in buffer then it
is retransmitted.

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Solution

p: The diagnostic message is stored in buffer.

q: The diagnostic message is retransmitted.

For requirements to be consistent all of them

be true to avoid any contradiction.

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Solution

p: The diagnostic message is stored in buffer.

q: The diagnostic message is retransmitted.

Symbolically:
pvq
p‘
p→q

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Solution

Symbolically:
p v q …(1)
p‘ …(2)
p → q … (3)

Supposing p =F will make 2 True.

In 1, q must be true for requirement be true (F v
T = T)
In 3, F → T = T
So requirements are consistent.
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Thank You!

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