Definition:Therefore
(Redirected from Definition:Assertion Sign)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Definition
If statement $p$ logically implies statement $q$, then we may say:
- $p$, therefore $q$.
The symbology:
- $p, q \vdash r$
means:
- Given as premises $p$ and $q$, we may validly conclude $r$
So the symbol $\vdash$ is interpreted to mean therefore.
Thus, $p, q \vdash r$ reads as:
- $p$ and $q$, therefore $r$.
A fallacy may be indicated by $p, q \not \vdash r$, which can be interpreted as:
- Given as premises $p$ and $q$, we may not validly conclude $r$.
Also known as
The symbol $\vdash$ is sometimes called the turnstile symbol (or gate post), and is often (misleadingly) called the assertion sign.
Some older literature uses the symbol $\therefore$ but this is falling out of use.
In contrast to $\vdash$, which is a formal symbol used in proof writing, the $\therefore$ symbol is generally used as shorthand for "therefore," and as such is traditionally classified as a punctuation mark.
Also see
- Definition:Because
- Definition:Logical Implication
- Definition:Logical Equivalence
- Definition:Conditional
- Definition:Biconditional
Sources
- 1910: Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell: Principia Mathematica: Volume $\text { 1 }$ ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text{I}$: Preliminary Explanations of Ideas and Notations
- 1959: A.H. Basson and D.J. O'Connor: Introduction to Symbolic Logic (3rd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 3.3$: The Construction and Application of Truth-Tables
- 1964: Donald Kalish and Richard Montague: Logic: Techniques of Formal Reasoning ... (previous) ... (next): $\text{I}$: 'NOT' and 'IF': $\S 3$
- 1965: E.J. Lemmon: Beginning Logic ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: The Propositional Calculus $1$: $2$ Conditionals and Negation
- 1980: D.J. O'Connor and Betty Powell: Elementary Logic ... (previous) ... (next): $\S \text{I}: 1$: The Logic of Statements $(1)$
- 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics: Turnstile
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): assertion sign
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): assertion sign