Philosophy 1

THE BASICS OF FORMAL DEDUCTIVE LOGIC

The Subject Matter of Formal Deductive Logic

Formal Deductive Logic is the study of valid and invalid argument forms. The formal logicians
believe they have found the essence of all arguments in its argument form. They strip the content
of all naturally occurring arguments in ordinary discourse by representing them and simply
concentrate on their logical form, and judge whether the argument form is valid or invalid.
A deductive argument is a type of reasoning, made up of a premise or a premise set and a
conclusion such that in all possible substitution instances of the truth values of the premises and
conclusion you will not have a case in its truth table where the premise set is true and the
conclusion false this means that the argument form is valid. If you do, then the argument form
is invalid.
A simple but typical deductive argument (syllogism):

i. All human beings are mortal. (Premise 1/Major Premise)

ii. Socrates is a human being. (Premise 2/Minor Premise)
iii. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (Conclusion)
*A Syllogism is a deductive argument that contains more than one premise (major premise and
the minor premise/s) and a conclusion.
*An Enthymeme is a deductive argument whose major premise is hidden. In the form of an
enthymeme, the argument above will look like this:
Socrates is a human being. Thus, he is mortal.
^One can understand that a major premise in the form of a general claim underlies the premise of
the above argument.
The minimum requirement for a deductive argument is at least one premise and one conclusion.
It does not matter how many premises you have; if you only have one conclusion, you have only
one argument.

Logical Structure
To inspect the structure of the argument, formal logicians must represent the argument in order
to reveal its logical structure. The representation of logical structure below is in vertical mode.
To wit:
i. If P then Q
ii. P
iii. Therefore Q
Since the logical structure has been revealed, one may now inspect the form of the argument by
presenting its truth table. Notice that the content of the premises and conclusion is unimportant in
the determination of validity. And when an argument is valid, this means that in all substitution
instances of its truth value, you will not have a case where the premise set is true (or 1, since
some logicians substitute 1 for True, to avoid the usual empirical meaning attached to the terms
true or false) and the conclusion false (i. e. 0, accordingly). If you do, the argument form is
invalid.

Representing Simple and Compound Statements

We represent statements in order to isolate the logical structure and do away with the content.
Mentioned below are the rules for representing statements and logical constants:
1. Use a single capital letter to represent a simple statement. A simple statement by
definition contains no connecting words like: either/or, and, if then, and if and only if.
There are only four connecting words in Formal Deductive Logic, and they are called the
logical constants.
2. Use the following symbols when referring to the logical constants:
a. The symbol ( . ) conjunction, used to represent the connecting word and.
(Closest English counterparts: but, while)
Truth Table:
P Q (Conjuncts) P Q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

b. The symbol v (wedge) disjunction or alternation, used to represent the

connecting word either/or. (Closest English counterparts: or, unless)
Truth Table:
P Q (Disjuncts) P v Q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F (invalid)

c. The symbol (arrow) conditional statement, used to represent the connecting

word if then. (Closest English counterparts: provided that, given that)
Truth Table:
P Q (antecedent and consequent) P Q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

*Note that conditional statements can be mistaken to biconditional statements (if and
only if.) and statements which have only if clauses.
 d. An if and only if statement is represented by P Q. It is called a biconditional.
Truth Table:
P Q P Q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

*A biconditional is asserting a necessary condition that P is true if Q is true and a

sufficient condition that P is true only if Q is true. Thus, Q is both the necessary and sufficient
condition for the truth of P. Such that if Q is true, you know that P is also true; or if Q is false,
then you know that P cannot be true. Also, it is defined as (P Q) . (Q P). This would
graphically represent the concept of necessary and sufficient condition.

If and Only If
In symbolizing truth-functional claims, nothing can take the place of a careful reading
of what the claim in question says. It always comes down to a matter of exercising
careful judgment.

1. The word if, used alone, introduces the antecedent of a conditional.

2. The phrase only if introduces the consequent of a conditional.
Consider this example: Moore will get wet if Parker capsizes the boat.
The Parker part of the claim is the antecedent, even though it comes after the
Moore part. Its as though the claim had said,
If Parker capsizes the boat, Moore will get wet.
We would symbolize this claim as P M. Once again, its the word if that tells us
what the antecedent is.
Parker will beat Moore at 9-ball only if Moore has a bad day.
This claim is different. In this case, the Parker part is the antecedent because only
if introduces the consequent of a conditional. This is truth-functionally the same as

If Parker beats Moore at 9-ball (P), then Moore had (or must have had) a bad day
(B).
Using the letters indicated in the parentheses, wed symbolize this as
P B

If the grammatical tenses seem to not make sense, we need to adjust those in
whatever way necessary. We can use if in front of a conditionals antecedent, or we
can use only if in front of its consequent; we produce exactly equivalent claims in
 two cases. As in the case with if, it doesnt matter where the only if part of the
claim occurs. The part of this claim thats about Moore is the consequent, eventhough
it occurs at the beginning of this version:
Only if Moore has a bad day will Parker beat him at 9-ball.
*The symbol ~ (negation sign) negation, used to represent the word not.
(Closest English Counterpart: it is not the case that)
Truth Table:
P ~P_
T F
F T

Every statement either contains a connecting word or it does not. Statements without any
connecting word however long are simple statement from the point of view of formal logicians.
Simple statements can be represented by using a single capital letter following the rules
mentioned above. For example, consider the statement Bachelors are unmarried males. It can be
represented by the letter, B.

What about Compound Statements? How do we represent a compound statement? We have to

stipulate another convention for representing a compound statement. Supposing we represent the
simple statement Plato is a philosopher by the capital letter P. Suppose further that we represent
another simple statement Aristotle is a philosopher by the capital letter A. Finally, we conjoin
the two simple statements by the symbol of the conjunction. The result is P A (which reads P
and A). The representation of the logical structure of P A takes the place of the compound
statement: Plato is a philosopher and Aristotle is a philosopher or the statement version, Plato
and Aristotle are philosophers.
*Note that in most of the case, when dealing with Formal Deductive Logic, some simple
statements can be represented or symbolized as a conditional or an if-then statement. This is
done to further strip off the content of statements within an argument and look closely into the
latters form. In looking into the form of an argument, one can conclusively tell if it is a valid or
invalid argument.
In the previous paragraph, we represented the statement Plato is a philosopher as P and Aristotle
is a philosopher as A subsequently. In another instance where the statements Plato is a
philosopher and Aristotle is a philosopher are utilized, their representations will differ. Consider
this deductive argument:
Major Premise: All philosophers are human beings. A H
Minor Premise/s: Plato is a philosopher. P A or simply (P R) A
Aristotle is a philosopher. R A
Conclusion: Plato and Aristotle are human beings. (P R) H
The Principle of Identity
Suppose you represent the simple statement: Puppies are young dogs by the capital letter P. And,
supposing you know that puppies are indeed young dogs by definition. So if P is true, then P is
true. If P is false, then P is false. The Principle of Identity states that statement P implies itself.

The Principle of Excluded Middle

The principle of excluded middle guarantees that the truth-value of any statement like P is either
true or false only. This means that the premise and conclusion of a deductive argument can only
be either true or false. It cannot admit of probability values. The principle can be represented as:
P v ~P. Either puppies are young dogs or they are not. You do not have a third value. Supposing
you know that P is true, then, without further investigation, you also know that the negation ~P is
false, following the principle of excluded middle. Why? Because you know that the truth of P is
stable over time following the principle of identity; and you know that P can be either true or
false only. Logicians have a technical name for this relationship, it is called truth functional
relation. This means that P and ~P are truth functionally related.

Now consider the reverse, if the affirmative P is false, then it is the negative ~P that is true.
When you see the negation sign before a statement it does not necessarily mean the statement is
false. A negated statement can be true or it can be false. In short, P v ~P is always true because in
all possible substitution of its truth-values the statement is true. This means P v ~P is a tautology.
Truth Table for the statement: P v ~P
T ~(T) or F

F ~(F) or T
The above statement is a tautology, since the statement is either true or false and not contrasting
one and the same value (at a given time and in a given respect).

The Principle of Non-Contradiction

The principle of non-contradiction prevents one from assigning two truth-values to a statement at
the same time and in the same respect. This means that P cannot be both true and false at the
same time and in the same respect. Although P can be true at one instance and false at another,
they cannot be both be true and false at the same time. So puppies cannot be both young dogs
and not young dogs at the same time and in the same respect. This principle of non-contradiction
is represented by ~ (P ~P), which means that there can never be a case where the statement P is
self-contradictory.

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

Conditional claims are sometimes spelled out in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions.
Consider this example:

The presence of oxygen is a necessary condition for combustion.

This tells us that we cant have combustion without oxygen, or If we have combustion (C), then
we must have oxygen (O). Notice that the necessary condition becomes the consequent of a
conditional: C O.
A sufficient condition guarantees whatever it is a sufficient condition for. Being born in the
United States is a sufficient condition for U.S. citizenship thats all one needs to be a U.S.
citizen. Sufficient conditions are expressed as antecedents of conditional claims, so we would
say, If John was born in the United States (B), then John is a U.S. citizen (C): B C.
You should also notice the connection between if and only if on the one hand and necessary
and sufficient conditions on the other. The word if, by itself, introduces a sufficient condition;
the phrase only if introduces a necessary condition. So the claim X is a necessary condition
for Y would be symbolized Y X.
From time to time, one thing will be both a necessary and a sufficient condition for something
else. For example, if Jeans payment of her dues in her organization guaranteed her continued
membership (making such payment a sufficient condition) and there was no way for her to
continue membership without paying her dues (making payment a necessary condition as well),
then we could express such a situation as Jean will remain a member of her organization (M) if
and only if she pays her dues (D): M D or (M D) . (D M)
To summarize, If indicates a sufficient condition, If and only if signifies both necessary and
sufficient conditions and Only if suggests a necessary condition.
If one pays his bills on time, then one will not get his electricity disconnected. (Paying ones bills
on time is a sufficient condition to not get ones electricity disconnected.)
Only if you submit your requirements on time could you get a 1.0 from the instructor.
(Submitting requirements on time is a necessary condition to get a 1.0.)
You will get a 1.0 from the instructor if and only if you submitted all the requirements on time.
(Both the parts of the claim are the necessary and sufficient conditions.)

References:
Acuna, Andresito E. Philosophical Analysis: Advanced Techniques For Critical Thinking.
Philosophy Department, University of the Philippines, Diliman. 7 th Ed. 2006.
Moore, Brooke Noel and Parker, Richard. Critical Thinking. Mayfield Publishing Company,
Mountain View, California. 2002.