math / Foundations / free

Mathematical Logic

Turn statements into rules that can be checked step by step.

Follow the mechanism1 / 3

Claims receive truth values. A proposition can be tested as true or false, which gives reasoning a precise input instead of an impression.

propositional logicp → q · false
Focus the rule
Evaluate the compound statementp → qfalse
Truth table for IF → THEN
pqp → q
TTT
TFF
FTT
FFT
active row2 / 4
true rows3 / 4
p valueT
q valueF

This is the counterexample row: p is true but q is false, so the promise ‘if p, then q’ fails.

Truth tables enumerate every possible input row. They turn an argument into something checkable: a compound statement is valid only when its rule gives the intended result for every relevant assignment.