 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2007) |
In logic, a hypothetical syllogism has two uses. In propositional logic it expresses one of the rules of inference, while in the history of logic, it is a short-hand for the theory of consequence.
Propositional logic
Hypothetical syllogism is one of the proof rules in classical logic that may or may not be available in a non-classical logic. The hypothetical syllogism (abbr. H.S.) is a valid argument of the following form:
- P → Q.
- Q → R.
- Therefore, P → R.
Symbolically, this is expressed:
In other words, this kind of argument states that if one implies another, and that other implies a third, then the first implies the third. An example hypothetical syllogism:
- If I do not wake up, then I cannot go to work.
- If I cannot go to work, then I will not get paid.
- Therefore, if I do not wake up, then I will not get paid.
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
