Boolean Logic

last modified: October 23, 2006

Traditional or BooleanLogic treats purely binary logical states: a statement can only be either 100% true or 100% false.


BooleanLogic connectives are defined by truth tables where 1 is true and 0 is false, i.e.,

For "and" symbolized as "&" or "^" or "∧" (or "&&" in CeeLanguage/CeePlusPlus/JavaLanguage, etc.)

^ | A  B
 ---+------
0 | 0  0
0 | 1  0
0 | 0  1
1 | 1  1

For "or" symbolized as "|" or "v" or "∨" (or "||" in the languages above)

v | A  B
 ---+------
0 | 0  0
1 | 1  0
1 | 0  1
1 | 1  1
"Not" is "~" (or "!" or "¬")
| A ---+--- 1 | 0 0 | 1

and "implication" (see LogicalImplication) or "If..then.." is "->" or "⇒" (conditional)

-> | A  B
 ----+------
 1 | 0  0
 0 | 1  0
 1 | 0  1
 1 | 1  1

"Iff" or "If and only if" is "<->" or "⇔" (biconditional)

is the same as (A -> B) ^ (B -> A)

There are many axioms of BooleanLogic, including DeMorgansLaws, and some deduction rule, such as

A^(A->B) -> B

This means, when doing proofs in logic or mathematics, in any step if A (which can be a complex expression) is true (or an assumption) and there is a definition, assumption, axiom or previously proved theorem of the form A->B, then B can be introduced into the proof chain.

For more truth tables, see

It should be noted that implication in BooleanLogic does not model the way the human mind does implication; it's a rather forced fit. This continues to cause theoretical and pragmatic issues that motivate a continuing search for a more suitable model.


See also FuzzyLogic, FirstOrderLogic, SymbolicLogic, TheoremProving, ThreeValuedLogic, TetralemmicLogic, MultiValuedLogic


CategoryLogic


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