Category Archives: Intermediate Logic

The Biblical Biconditional

Intermediate Logic, Logic

Symbolic logic has five standard logical operators, each of which has a standard translation in English:

negation is “not”
conjunction is “and”
disjunction is “or”
conditional is “if/then”
biconditional is “if and only if”

While the translations of the first four logical operators are frequent in English, the phrase “if and only if” is used very infrequently, and then only occasionally among mathematicians, philosophers, and lawyers.

For instance, while it is easy to find hundreds of nots, ands, ors, and if/thens in the Bible, the phrase “if and only if” is completely absent. However, for those who look carefully, biconditional reasoning is used several times in scripture. Keeping in mind that p if and only if q means if p then q and if q then p — and remembering other equivalences we have learned — the following verses all reflect biconditional reasoning:

Genesis 43:4-5, “If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down… But if you will not send him, we will not go down.”

2 Kings 7:4, “If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

John 6:53-54, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”

The first example could be translated as “We will go down if and only if you send our brother with us.” The second, “We will live if and only if they spare us.” The third, “You have eternal life if and only if you eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood.”

Can you find any other biblical examples of statements that could be translated with the “if and only if”?

If/Then Truth Table

Intermediate Logic, Logic

One of the difficulties new students of symbolic logic must overcome is understanding the defining truth table for the conditional, the “if/then” logical operator. The defining truth table tells us what the truth value of the proposition is, given the truth value of its component parts. For the conditional, it looks like this:

p    q     p ⊃ q
T    T         T
T    F         F
F    T         T
F    F         T

One way to defend this is to look at real-life conditional propositions with known truth values, for which we also know the truth value of the component parts. We will take our examples from the Bible.

The first row of the defining truth table states that a conditional with a true antecedent and a true consequent is true. In Genesis 44:26, Judah says about Benjamin, “If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down.” The antecedent “Our youngest brother is with us” is true, and the consequent, “We will go down” was also true. We also know this is a true statement; Judah is speaking truthfully. There is the first row: If true then true is true.

The second row says a conditional with a true antecedent and a false consequent is false. In Judges 16:7 Samson says to Delilah, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” In verse 8 they bind him with seven fresh bowstrings (i.e. the antecedent is true) , but in verse 9 he breaks them easily (the consequent is false). So in verse 10, Delilah recognizes that Samson had lied to her; that is, she knows the conditional was false. Thus, if true then false is false.

The third row says a conditional with a false antecedent and a true consequent should be considered true. In Genesis 24:41, the servant quotes Abraham: “You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.” The antecedent of the conditional (they will not give her to you) is false (they do give her), but the consequent (you will be released from my oath) is true (given the statement in verse 41 prior to the conditional). And we know the conditional was true; Abraham was speaking the truth. So if false then true is true. (See also Genesis 34:17).

Finally, the fourth row says conditionals with false antecedents and false consequents are also true. Here is one example: “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” (Genesis 18:26). The conditional is true, since it is God speaking. But note that the antecedent (God finds in Sodom fifty righteous people) is false, and the consequent (God spares the city) is also false. (See also Genesis 42:38). Thus, if false then false is true.

We see that it is not difficult to find examples of if/then statements in the Bible that support the traditional defining truth table for the conditional logical operator.

 

Minecraft Logic

Intermediate Logic

So apparently, creating digital logic circuits on the game Minecraft redstone is a thing.

I was recently sent some screen-captures of the answer to Exercise 34, problem 4. You can create the circuit in the game, and it will give you the outputs for the various inputs. It appears to use an SPST switch for the inputs.

Anyone else out there use the Minecraft game for their Digital Logic studies?

Logic Video Session Info

Intermediate Logic, Introductory Logic, Logic, , ,

If you are using the Introductory or Intermediate Logic videos to teach your students, you may want to know the duration of the sessions. That information is now available on this printable document: Video Session durations.

Here are some quick facts:

Introductory Logic Videos
Total duration 10 hrs, 52 min, 33 sec.
Average session 13 min, 7 sec. (excluding the test and optional sessions)
Longest session 33 min, 21 sec.
Shortest session 5 min, 33 sec.
Total number of sessions 45.

Intermediate Logic Videos
Total duration 12 hrs, 30 min, 42 sec.
Average session 14 min, 14 sec. (excluding the test sessions)
Longest session 49 min, 54 sec.
Shortest session 4 min, 35 sec.
Total number of sessions 51.

You’re welcome.

What comes after Logic? Rhetoric!

Introductory and Intermediate Logic together provide a complete foundational logic curriculum. Informal, categorical, and modern propositional logic are all included. The next step in your student’s classical education is to begin to apply what he has learned in logic to effective speaking and writing. This means your student should move on to the study of formal rhetoric, the capstone of a classical education. Rhetoric applies the tools of logic – defining terms, declaring truth, arguing to valid conclusions, and refuting invalid ones – to the persuasion of people. Rhetoric puts flesh onto the bones of logical analysis, that we may breathe arguments into life through the wise use of fitting words.

Fitting Words: Classical Rhetoric for the Christian Student is a complete formal rhetoric curriculum. Presented from a thoroughly Christian perspective, Fitting Words provides students with tools for speaking that will equip them for life. Drawing from Aristotle, Quintilian, Augustine, and others, and using examples from the greatest speeches from history and scripture, this robust curriculum guides Christian students in the theory and practice of persuasive communication.

The complete curriculum includes:

  • Student text with 30 detailed lessons
  • Student workbook with exercises for every lesson
  • Answer key for the exercises and tests
  • Test packet with nine tests, review sheets for every test, and speech judging sheets
  • Video course in which the author introduces and teaches through every lesson

Digital Logic Q & A

Mr. Nance,

I have an overload of questions on digital logic. Hope that is okay!

1. Truth-functional completeness often makes circuits more complicated than they have to be. Is there anything besides cost-effectiveness that is beneficial about truth-functional completeness?

I assume you are asking “Why do we learn how to use NOR gates or NAND gates exclusively in a circuit?” Primarily, it is just to teach students how the gates work. But in practice, if you are constructing an electronic device, you may not have all the gates available (e.g. Radio Shack ran out and will not get them in for ten days), and so need to use a couple of NAND gates to do the job of one AND gate. Also, you might only use one NOR gate in the circuit, but a chip might contain four NOR gates, so why not just use three of them to replace an AND gate instead of buying one?

2. Since the symbol for NOR is the upside-down triangle, is there a symbol for NAND?

The triangle symbol is largely my own convention. See the Wikipedia page for the standard ways of expressing NOR. I know of no special symbol for NAND.

3. Is there a conditional gate (P ⊃ Q)?

Not that I am aware of. You can make a conditional using other gates.

4. Why do we write the names of logic gates in all caps? ( AND instead of and or And)

Just to distinguish them from the words in a sentence. It would be confusing to read “Take an or gate and an and gate…”

5. Why in K-maps do we circle in groups in powers of two?

Because that’s how they work to correctly simplify propositions. Draw yourself a K-map with 0111 across the top four cells, and 1110 across the bottom four cells. If you made two circles with groups of three across and ask, “What variable stays the same (negated or unnegated)?” the answer is that nothing stays the same, so no proposition can be identified. To get the simplest proposition, you must circle the middle four square, and the two on the top right and bottom left. Spend some time thinking through exactly what the K-map is doing when you circle groups and determine the proposition from the circled group. (See the next question.)

6. Finally, do K-maps eliminate the need for the Algebraic identities? I found that doing the Digital Logic Project didn’t require using them.

Yes, that is their primary benefit. Consider the proposition (p • q) ∨ (p • ~q). This simplifies this way:

  1. (p • q) ∨ (p • ~q)  Given
  2. p • (q ∨ ~q)  Distribution
  3. p • 1  Tautology
  4. p  Alg. identity

Now do a 2×2 K-map for this proposition:

 

 

 

See how it does the same thing in a faster, easier way?

Blessings!

Equivalence w/ Shorter Truth Tables

Mr. Nance,

Within Intermediate Logic Lesson 11, what would keep us from setting up the propositions both being true at the same time, and if there were a contradiction they would not be equivalent? Instead of setting them up one true and one false and if there’s a contradiction then they are equivalent?

That would be checking for consistency, not equivalence. If you set them both as true, and get a contradiction, then they are not consistent (which of course also means they are not equivalent, nor related by implication, per the chart in Introductory Logic, p. 71). But if you get no contradiction, all you have shown is that they can both be true, which is the meaning of consistency. To show equivalence, you have to show that they cannot have opposite truth values: the first cannot be true while the second is false, and vice versa.

Blessings!

Formal Proof Challenge!

Intermediate Logic

Several years ago I was teaching a logic course, and we were learning about formal proofs of validity. I enjoy proofs, and to keep myself sharp I was working through a practice quiz in David Kelley’s The Art of Reasoning, when I came across this argument:

D ⊃ (E ⊃ F)
D ⊃ (F ⊃ G)
∴ D ⊃ (E ⊃ G)

I was in a quiet library with plenty of time, but despite all my efforts I could not solve this (without using the Conditional Proof). The next day in class some students were finishing their assignment early, so I  challenged them with this proof, thinking to myself, “That ought to keep them busy,” but not really expecting anyone to succeed. Before the end of class, Caroline Jones came forward and said, “I solved it, Mr. Nance.” I scoffed inwardly at first, only to be pleasantly surprised by her correct solution.

Since that time I have called this “The Caroline Jones” proof, and have challenged my logic students to solve it using only the regular rules of inference and replacement. The most elegant proof I have seen requires twelve total steps.

Anyone up to the challenge?

Reductio Challenge

Intermediate Logic,

In formal proofs of validity, the reductio ad absurdum method can be used to make some proofs easier, and even some shorter. For example, consider this argument:

(~P ⊃ R) • (~Q ⊃ S)    ~(R ∨ S)    ∴ P • Q

The proof for this valid argument is 14 steps without the reductio (which I will let you try to solve on your own), but only 7 steps with the reductio, as shown here:

  1. (~P ⊃ R) • (~Q ⊃ S)
  2. ~(R ∨ S)   /  ∴  P • Q
  3. ~(P • Q)                     R.A.A.
  4. ~P ∨ ~Q                    3 De M.
  5. R ∨ S                         1, 4 C.D.
  6. (R ∨ S) • ~(R ∨ S)   5, 2 Conj.
  7. P • Q                          3-6 R.A.

The reasoning behind the reductio method is this: If assuming that a proposition is false leads to a self-contradiction, then the proposition must be true. This reasoning can itself be written as a propositional argument:

~P ⊃ (Q • ~Q)   ∴  P

This is a valid argument, as a shorter truth table will show. But the proof for this argument (if you are not allowed to use reductio) requires 13 steps, and it is rather difficult to solve. Any takers?

Two Strange Proofs

Mr. Nance,

Could you give real-world examples of the arguments to prove in Intermediate Logic Lesson 18, number 7) U / ∴ W ⊃ W, and number 8) X / ∴ Y ⊃ X, showing how they would be used, or explain them a bit? Thank you.

Thanks for the great question! These two arguments are unusual, so I am not surprised that you are asking about them.

A real-world example for #7 might be Esther 4:16, “I will go to the king which is against the law; if I perish, then I perish!” This argument form basically shows that any proposition implies a tautology.

An example for #8 could be, “God created all things. So even if evolution can be used to explain some fossils, it’s still true that God created all things.” The form of this argument shows that if a proposition is given, any other proposition implies it.

To be honest, my purposes for including those two problems were: 1) to show how very strange the conditional proof is, and 2) to show how this method can be used to simplify otherwise difficult proofs.

Blessings!