Symbolic logic

Cogito ergo sum Logic and rhetoric

Key articles

Logical fallacy Syllogism Argument

General logic

The Fine Art of Baloney Detection Certum est quia impossibile est False analogy Fallacy of accent Science doesn't know everything Countless counterfeits fallacy

Bad logic

Not as bad as Galileo gambit Definitional fallacies Damning with faint praise Negative evidence Just world fallacy v - t - e

Symbolic logic is a logical technique that allows reduction of a logical argument stated in natural language to mathematical logic. This helps to avoid issues of semantics that plague many logical debates. A proof in symbolic logic is only as true as its premises.

Example

Let A be defined as "Water has memory of chemicals dissolved in it."
Let B be defined as "Nearly every chemical has been dissolved in the oceans at some point."
Let C be defined as "The oceans have memory of nearly every chemical."
Let D be defined as "The oceans are as effective a homeopathic treatment as anything you could buy."

Postulates:
1: A
2: B
3: A&B→C
4: C→D

Proof:
Line a: By 1, 2, and 3: C
Line b: By 4 and a:D

Conclusion:
D

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