RULES OF REPLACEMENT

REPLACEMENT
We complete our development of the proof procedure for the propositional calculus by making use of another
useful way of validly moving from step to step. Since two logically equivalent statements have the same truthvalue on every possible combination of truth-values for their component parts, no change in the truth-value of
any statement occurs when we replace one of them with the other. Thus, when constructing proofs of validity,
we can safely use a statement containing either one of a pair of logical equivalents as the premise for a step
whose conclusion is exactly the same, except that it contains the other one.
Although this would work for any pair of logically equivalent statement forms, remembering all of them would
be cumbersome. Instead, we will once again rely upon a short list of ten rules of replacement in our construction
of proofs, and we have already examined five of them:
D.N.

p ~~p

DeM.

~(p q) (~p ~q)

~(p q) (~p ~q)

Impl.

(pq) (~p q)

Equiv.

[pq] [(pq) (qp)]

[pq] [(p q) (~p ~q)]

Trans.

(p q) (~q ~p)

We'll add just five more, making a total of ten tautologous biconditionals to be used as rules of replacement.
1. TRANSPOSITION (LOGIC)
In propositional logic, transposition is a valid rule of replacement that permits one to switch
the antecedent with theconsequent 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" the truth of "Not-B implies not-A", and conversely.[4][5] It is very
closely related to the rule of inference modus tollens. It is the rule that:
(P Q)
( Q P)
Where " " is a metalogical symbol representing "can be replaced in a proof with."
EXAMPLE:
a) If he is with me then he stays with me.
b) If he is not with me then he does not stay with me.
2. MATERIAL IMPLICATION (Rule of inference)
In propositional logic, material implication is a valid rule of replacement that allows for a conditional
statement to be replaced by a disjunction if and only if the antecedent is negated. The rule states that P implies
Q is logically equivalent to not-P or Q and can replace each other in logical proofs.
Where " " is a metalogical symbol representing "can be replaced in a proof with."
Formal notation[edit]
The material implication rule may be written in sequent notation:

where is a metalogical symbol meaning that

some logical system;
or in rule form:

is a syntactic consequence of

in

where the rule is that wherever an instance of "

" appears on a line of a proof, it can be
replaced with "
";
or as the statement of a truth-functional tautology or theorem of propositional logic:
where

and

are propositions expressed in some formal system.

EXAMPLE:
a) If it is a bear, then it can swim.
b) Thus, it is not a bear or it can swim.
where is the statement "it is a bear" and is the statement "it can swim".
If it was found that the bear could not swim, written symbolically as
false but otherwise they are both true.

, then both sentences are

3. MATERIAL EQUIVALENCE
(p/q) / [( p q) (qp) ]
(p/q) / [( p q) v (~p ~q) ]
EXAMPLE:
He is with me if and only if he stays out of you.
a) If he is with me then he stays out of you
and if he stays out of you then he is with me.
b) Either he is with me and stays out of you
or he is not with me and does not stay out of you.

4. EXPORTATION - is a rule of replacement of the form:

[(pq)r)][p(qr)]
The truth-table at the right demonstrates that statements of these two forms are logically equivalent.
Please take careful notice of the difference between Exportation as a rule of replacement and the rule of
inference called Absorption. Although they bear some similarity of structure, the rules are distinct and can be
used differently in the construction of proofs.

EXAMPLE:
a) If he is with me and he stays with me then he stays out of you.
b) If he is with me then he stays with me and stays out of you.
5. TAUTOLOGY
Finally, there are two forms of the rule called Tautology (Taut.):
the first involves disjunction,
p (p p)
and the second involves conjunction:
p (p p)
In each case, the rule permits replacement of any statement by (or with) another statement that is simply the
disjunction or conjunction of the original statement with itself. Although such reasoning is rare in ordinary life,
it will perform a significant formal role in our construction of proofs of validity.
EXAMPLE:
Either 2+2= 4 or 4+4= 8. (Disjunction)
2+2= 4 and 4+4= 8. (Conjunction)
6. DOUBLE NEGATION
In propositional logic, double negation is the theorem that states that "If a statement is true, then it is
not the case that the statement is not true." This is expressed by saying that a proposition A is logically
equivalent to not (not-A), or by the formula A ~(~A) where the sign expresses logical equivalence and the
sign ~ expresses negation.
EXAMPLE:
a) Jim can wait.
b) Jim cant hardly wait.
7. DISTRIBUTION - exhibits the systematic features of statements in which both disjunctions and
conjunctions appear.
In one of its two forms, a conjunct is distributed over a disjunction:
[p (qr)][(pq) (pr)]
In the other form, a disjunct is distributed over a conjunction:
[p (qr)][(pq) (pr)]
The truth-tables should make it clear that both forms of distribution are reliable rules of replacement.
EXAMPLE: (a disjunct form) this is the form where disjunct is distributed over a conjunction.
a) Either Fifth Harmony is the artist behind Better Together or it is Gossling and The 1975.
b) Either Fifth Harmony is the artist behind Better Together; or it is Gossling.
AND
Either Fifth Harmony is the artist behind Better Together; or it is the 1975.
8. COMMUTATION - shows that statements of certain forms can simply be reversed.
In one form, this applies to all disjuctions:

(p q) (q p)
In its second form, Commutation establishes the same logical equivalence with respect to conjunctions:
(p q) (q p)
The truth-tables for these two varieties of commutation show that we can safely replace any disjunction or
conjunction with another in which the component elements of the original have been switched, since the truth
values of the commuted compound statements do not change under any of the possible conditions.
EXAMPLE: (disjunction)
a) Either Tamaraw is the symbol of FEU or it is Philippine Eagle.
b) Either Philippine Eagle is the symbol of FEU or it is Tamaraw.
9. ASSOCIATION - permits modification of the parenthetical grouping of certain statements.
Applied to disjunction, it has the form:
[p (qr)] [(pq) r]
This shows that the grouping of a string of disjuncts is irrelevant to the truth-value of the compound statement
form.
Applied to conjunction, it has the form:
[p (qr)] [(pq) r]
Used in tandem, the Commutative and Associative replacement rules make it possible to rearrange any series of
disjunctions or conjunctionsno matter how long and complicatedinto any new order and arrangement we
wish to have.

10. DE MORGANS THEOREMS

Are pair of transformation rules that are both valid inference. The rules allow the expression
of conjunctions and disjunctions purely in terms of each other via negation.
The rules can be expressed in English as:
The negation of a conjunction is the disjunction of the negations.
The negation of a disjunction is the conjunction of the negations.
EXAMPLE: ~(p q) / (~p v ~q) negation of a conjunction
a) Swatch is not a shoe brand and Nike is not a wrist watch brand.
b) Neither Swatch is a shoe brand nor Nike is a wrist watch brand.
EXAMPLE: ~(p v q) / (~p ~q) negation of a conjunction
Vice versa (B A)