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Rules of Inference Explained

Rules of inference establish that if certain antecedent statements are true, then a related consequent statement must also be true. Some common rules of inference include addition, simplification, conjunction, modus ponens, modus tollens, hypothetical syllogism, and disjunctive syllogism. Examples demonstrate applying rules of inference to arguments involving conditional statements.

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Ashan Zahid
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76 views27 pages

Rules of Inference Explained

Rules of inference establish that if certain antecedent statements are true, then a related consequent statement must also be true. Some common rules of inference include addition, simplification, conjunction, modus ponens, modus tollens, hypothetical syllogism, and disjunctive syllogism. Examples demonstrate applying rules of inference to arguments involving conditional statements.

Uploaded by

Ashan Zahid
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Rules of Inference

Rules of Inference
 An Inference Rule is
 A pattern establishing that if we know that a set of

antecedent statements of certain forms are all


true, then we can validly deduce that a certain
related consequent statement is true.

antecedent 1
 antecedent 2 …
 consequent
“” means “therefore”

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Some Inference Rules

 p
Rule of Addition
 pq
 p
qp Rule of Simplification
 p
q Rule of Conjunction
 p q

3
Modus Ponens & Tollens

 p Rule of modus ponens


p (a.k.a. law of
q detachment“the )mode of affirming”
q

 q “the mode of denying”


pq Rule of modus
p tollens

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Syllogism & Resolution Inference
Rules

p Rule of hypothetical syllogism


q qr

pr
ppq Rule of disjunctive syllogism
 q
p
p  Rule of Resolution
r qq 

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Example 1

State which rule of inference is used:


“It is below freezing now. Therefore, it is
either below freezing or raining now.”

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Solution

Let p be the proposition “It is below freezing


now”
and q the proposition “It is raining now.”
Then this argument is of the form
p
_______
∴p∨q
This is an argument that uses the addition rule.

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Example 2

State which rule of inference is the basis of the


following argument:
“It is below freezing and raining now.
Therefore, it is below freezing now.”

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Solution

Let p be the proposition “It is below freezing


now,”
and let q be the proposition “It is raining
now.”
This argument is of the form
p∧q
_______
∴p
This argument uses the simplification rule.
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Example 3

State which rule of inference is used in the


argument:
“If it rains today, then we will not have a
barbecue today. If we do not have a barbecue
today, then we will have a barbecue tomorrow.
Therefore, if it rains today, then we will have a
barbecue tomorrow.”

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Solution

p be the proposition “It is raining today,”


q be the proposition “We will not have a barbecue today,”
r be the proposition “We will have a barbecue tomorrow.”
Then this argument is of the form
p→q
q→r
______________
∴p→r
Hence, this argument is a hypothetical syllogism.

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Example 4

Show that the premises “It is not sunny this


afternoon and it is colder than yesterday,” “We
will go swimming only if it is sunny,” “If we
do not go swimming, then we will take a
canoe trip,” and “If we take a canoe trip, then
we will be home by sunset” lead to the
conclusion “We will be home by sunset.”

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Solution

p:“It is sunny this afternoon,”


q: “It is colder than yesterday,”
r: “We will go swimming,”
s: “We will take a canoe trip,”
t: “We will be home by sunset.”
Then the premises become

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Solution

￢ p ∧ q, … (1)
r → p, …(2)
￢ r → s, …(3)
s→t …(4)
_________
΅t

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Solution

~p ^ q … (1)
_________
΅ ~p …(5)
Via simplification

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Solution

r → p … (2)
~p … (5)
________
΅ ~r …(6)
Via Modus Tollens

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Solution

~ r → s … (3)
~r … (6)
_____________
΅ s … (7)
Via Modus Ponens

17
Solution

s → t …(4)
s …(7)
____________
΅t
Via Modus Ponens.
Therefore, conclusion follows hypothesis.

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Example 5

We are given the following hypotheses:


“If the Chargers get a good linebacker, then the Chargers can
beat the Broncos. If the Chargers can beat the Broncos, then
the Chargers can beat the Jets. If the Chargers can beat the
Broncos, then the Chargers can beat the Dolphins. The
Chargers get a good linebacker.”
Show by using the rules of inference that the
conclusion follows from hypothesis.
Conclusion is:
“The Chargers can beat the Jets and the Chargers can beat
the Dolphins”.
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Solution

p:The Chargers get a good linebacker


q: The Chargers can beat the Broncos
r: The Chargers can beat the Jets
s: The Chargers can beat the Dolphins

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Solution

p → q …(1)
q → r …(2)
q → s …(3)
p …(4)
____________
΅r^s

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Solution

p → q … (1)
q → r … (2)
___________
΅ p → r … (5)
Via Hypothetical Syllogism

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Solution

p → q … (1)
q → s … (3)
___________
΅ p → s … (6)
Via Hypothetical Syllogism

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Solution

p → r … (5)
p… (4)
___________
΅ r … (7)
Via Modus Ponens

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Solution

p → s … (6)
p… (4)
___________
΅ s … (8)
Via Modus Ponens

25
Solution

r … (7)
s … (8)
________
΅r^s
Via conjunction
Hence, conclusion follows hypothesis.

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The End

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