Example
Consider the argument A:
Either it is hot or it is cold
It is not hot
Therefore it is cold
This argument is of the form:
Either P or Q
Not P
Therefore Q
or (using standard symbols of propositional calculus):
P 
Q
P
____________
Q
The corresponding conditional C is:
IF ((P or Q) and not P) THEN Q
or (using standard symbols):
((P Q) 
P)
Q
and the argument A is valid just in case the corresponding conditional C is a logical truth.
If C is a logical truth then C entails Falsity (The False).
Thus, any argument is valid if and only if the denial of its corresponding conditional leads to a contradiction.
If we construct a truth table for C we will find that it comes out T (true) on every row (and of course if we construct a truth table for the negation of C it will come out F (false) in every row. These results confirm the validity of the argument A
Some arguments need first-order predicate logic to reveal their forms and they cannot be tested properly by truth tables forms.
Consider the argument A1:
Some mortals are not Greeks
Some Greeks are not men
Not every man is a logician
Therefore Some mortals are not logicians
To test this argument for validity, construct the corresponding conditional C1 (you will need first-order predicate logic), negate it, and see if you can derive a contradiction from it. If you succeed, then the argument is valid.
Application
Instead of attempting to derive the conclusion from the premises proceed as follows.
To test the validity of an argument (a) translate, as necessary, each premise and the conclusion into sentential or predicate logic sentences (b) construct from these the negation of the corresponding conditional (c) see if from it a contradiction can be derived (or if feasible construct a truth table for it and see if it comes out false on every row.) Alternatively construct a truth tree and see if every branch is closed. Success proves the validity of the original argument.
In case of the difficulty in trying to derive a contradiction, one should proceed as follows. From the negation of the corresponding conditional derive a theorem in conjunctive normal form in the methodical fashions described in text books. If, and only if, the original argument was valid will the theorem in conjunctive normal form be a contradiction, and if it is, then that it is will be apparent.
First-order logic—also known as predicate logic, quantificational logic, and first-order predicate calculus—is a collection of formal systems used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. First-order logic uses quantified variables over non-logical objects, and allows the use of sentences that contain variables, so that rather than propositions such as "Socrates is a man", one can have expressions in the form "there exists x such that x is Socrates and x is a man", where "there exists" is a quantifier, while x is a variable. This distinguishes it from propositional logic, which does not use quantifiers or relations; in this sense, propositional logic is the foundation of first-order logic.
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Propositional calculus is a branch of logic. It is also called propositional logic, statement logic, sentential calculus, sentential logic, or sometimes zeroth-order logic. It deals with propositions and relations between propositions, including the construction of arguments based on them. Compound propositions are formed by connecting propositions by logical connectives. Propositions that contain no logical connectives are called atomic propositions.
In propositional logic, modus tollens (MT), also known as modus tollendo tollens and denying the consequent, is a deductive argument form and a rule of inference. Modus tollens takes the form of "If P, then Q. Not Q. Therefore, not P." It is an application of the general truth that if a statement is true, then so is its contrapositive. The form shows that inference from P implies Q to the negation of Q implies the negation of P is a valid argument.
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A paraconsistent logic is an attempt at a logical system to deal with contradictions in a discriminating way. Alternatively, paraconsistent logic is the subfield of logic that is concerned with studying and developing "inconsistency-tolerant" systems of logic which reject the principle of explosion.
The material conditional is an operation commonly used in logic. When the conditional symbol is interpreted as material implication, a formula is true unless is true and is false. Material implication can also be characterized inferentially by modus ponens, modus tollens, conditional proof, and classical reductio ad absurdum.
In logic, the contrapositive of a conditional statement is formed by negating both terms and reversing the direction of inference. More specifically, the contrapositive of the statement "if A, then B" is "if not B, then not A." A statement and its contrapositive are logically equivalent, in the sense that if the statement is true, then its contrapositive is true and vice versa.
In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic formula which is well formed and has a truth value. 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, or a sentential formula.
In propositional logic, transposition is a valid rule of replacement that permits one to switch the antecedent with the consequent of a conditional statement in a logical proof if they are also both negated. It is the inference from the truth of "A implies B" to the truth of "Not-B implies not-A", and conversely. It is very closely related to the rule of inference modus tollens. It is the rule that
In mathematical logic, a tautology is a formula or assertion that is true in every possible interpretation. An example is "x=y or x≠y". Similarly, "either the ball is green, or the ball is not green" is always true, regardless of the colour of the ball.
Logic is the formal science of using reason and is considered a branch of both philosophy and mathematics and to a lesser extent computer science. Logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inference and the study of arguments in natural language. The scope of logic can therefore be very large, ranging from core topics such as the study of fallacies and paradoxes, to specialized analyses of reasoning such as probability, correct reasoning, and arguments involving causality. One of the aims of logic is to identify the correct and incorrect inferences. Logicians study the criteria for the evaluation of arguments.
In logic and mathematics, contraposition refers to the inference of going from a conditional statement into its logically equivalent contrapositive, and an associated proof method known as proof by contraposition. The contrapositive of a statement has its antecedent and consequent inverted and flipped.
In logic, specifically in deductive reasoning, an argument is valid if and only if it takes a form that makes it impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion nevertheless to be false. It is not required for a valid argument to have premises that are actually true, but to have premises that, if they were true, would guarantee the truth of the argument's conclusion. Valid arguments must be clearly expressed by means of sentences called well-formed formulas.
Minimal logic, or minimal calculus, is a symbolic logic system originally developed by Ingebrigt Johansson. It is an intuitionistic and paraconsistent logic, that rejects both the law of the excluded middle as well as the principle of explosion, and therefore holding neither of the following two derivations as valid:
