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CS 2742 (Logic in Computer Science) - Fall 2008

This document summarizes a lecture on predicate logic and quantifiers. It introduces predicates as propositions with parameters that can be true or false depending on the value assigned to the parameter. Quantifiers like "forall" and "exists" are used to talk about whether a predicate is true for all or some possible values of its parameters. English words like "all", "every", and "some" correspond to quantifiers, though "any" can mean either universal or existential depending on context. An example paradox involving quantifiers is discussed.

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34 views

CS 2742 (Logic in Computer Science) - Fall 2008

This document summarizes a lecture on predicate logic and quantifiers. It introduces predicates as propositions with parameters that can be true or false depending on the value assigned to the parameter. Quantifiers like "forall" and "exists" are used to talk about whether a predicate is true for all or some possible values of its parameters. English words like "all", "every", and "some" correspond to quantifiers, though "any" can mean either universal or existential depending on context. An example paradox involving quantifiers is discussed.

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ZhichaoWang
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CS 2742 (Logic in Computer Science) Fall 2008

Lecture 10
Antonina Kolokolova
September 30, 2008

Predicate logic

Sometimes we encounter sentences that only have a truth value depending on some parameter. For example, Even(x) which states that the number x is even can be true or false
depending on the actual value of x. That is, Even(5) is false, and Even(10) is true.
It is convenient to think of predicates as propositions with parameters. Here, parameters
can be numbers, items, etc and there can be infinitely many possibilities for a parameter
value. For example, x2 > x is a predicate with an argument x, where we think of x as a
number. Another predicate P arent(x, y) could state that x is a parent of y. Here, it makes
sense to think of x and y as people, or at least living creatures. Truth values of a predicate
are defined for a given assignment of variables. For example, if x = 2, then x2 > x is true,
and if x = 0.5, then x2 > x is false. We call a set of possible objects from which the values
of a predicate can come from a domain of a predicate.
Here it is convenient to use some set-theoretic notation. A set is just a collection of objects
(elements). We write x S (pronounced x is in S) to mean that an element x is in a set
S. For example, S can be a set of people who wear hats, or numbers greater than 10, or
students in a classroom. If an element is not in a set, we use the notation x
/ S. Some special
kinds of sets are N , Z, Q, R, C, which are the sets of natural numbers, integers, rational, real
and complex numbers, respectively. Another special set is , which is a set containing no
elements.

5.1

Quantifiers

Without fixing the values of arguments of a predicate it is not possible to say if the predicate
is true or false. That is, unless we want to say that the predicate is false for all possible values
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of its arguments (in the domain of this predicate). Here, we need to pay careful attention to
what we mean by all possible values: x2 x is true for and it is false for some rational and
real numbers such as 0.5.
Quantifiers are the notational device that allows us to talk about all possible values of
arguments and make sentences with truth values out of predicates.
Definition 1. A formula x A(x), where A(x) is a formula containing predicates, is true
(on the domain of predicates) if is is true on every value of x from the domain. Here, is
called a universal quantifier, usually pronounced as for all ....
For example, x x2 x states that for every element from the domain the square of that
element is greater than the element itself. This formula now has a truth value, provided we
know the domain from which x comes from. If the domain is Z, then the formula is true, and
if the domain is Q, then it is false. Often the domain is written explicitly: x Z x2 x,
which is a shortcut for x (x Z x2 x).
When we want to say that something is not true everywhere, all we need to do is to give a
counterexample. E.g., to show that for Q it is not true that x x2 x it is enough to give
one value on which x2 x does not hold such as x = 0.5. We denote this with the second
type of quantifiers, an existential quantifier.
Definition 2. A formula x A(x), where A(x) is a formula containing predicates, is true
(on the domain of predicates) if is is true on some value of x from the domain. Here, is
called a existential quantifier, usually pronounced as exists ....
When doing boolean operations on formulas containing quantifiers, always remember that
universal and existential quantifiers are opposites of each other. So,
(x A(x)) x A(x)

(x A(x)) x A(x)

Now that we have this notation we can define what kinds of formulas we can construct using
this language, the first-order formulas.
Definition 3. A predicate is a first-order formula (possibly with free variables). A , ,
of a first-order formula is a first-order formula. If a formula A(x) has a free variable (that
is, a variable x that occurs in some predicates but does not occur under quantifiers such as
x or x), then x A(x) and x A(x) are also first-order formulas.
Note that this definition is very similar to the definition of propositional formulas except
here there are predicates instead of propositions and there are quantifiers.

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5.2

English and quantifiers

In English, the closest word to the universal quantifier is all or every. The closest word
to the existential quantifier is some and exists. But there is one word that can be used
as either a universal or an existential quantifier.That is the word any. Often we take it to
mean a universal quantifier, as in take any number greater than 1... (that is, every number
greater than 1 would work). But compare the following two sentences:
I will be happy if I do well in every class.
I will be happy if I do well in any class.
Here, the word any takes the meaning of an existential quantifier: that is, Ill be happy
if there exists some class in which I do well. Please keep this in mind when doing the
translations.
Puzzle 8. The first formulation of the famous liars paradox, done by a Cretan philosopher
Epimenides, stated All Cretans are liars. Is this a paradox?

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