Propositional and Predicate Logic

Abstract

Propositional logic is the study of propositions, where a proposition is a statement that is either true or false. Propositional logic may be used to encode simple arguments that are expressed in natural language, and to determine their validity. The validity of an argument may be determined from truth tables, or using the inference rules such as modus ponens to establish the conclusion. Predicate logic allows complex facts about the world to be represented, and new facts may be determined via deductive reasoning. Predicate calculus includes predicates, variables and quantifiers, and a predicate is a characteristic or property that the subject of a statement can have. The universal quantifier is used to express a statement such as that all members of the domain of discourse have property P, and the existential quantifier states that there is at least one value of x that has property P.