3.1: Symbolic Logic and Proofs
- Page ID
- 51131
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Logic is the study of consequence. Given a few mathematical statements or facts, we would like to be able to draw some conclusions. Whenever we find an “answer” in math, we really have a (perhaps hidden) argument. Mathematics is really about proving general statements (like the Intermediate Value Theorem), and this too is done via an argument, usually called a proof. We start with some given conditions, the premises of our argument, and from these we find a consequence of interest, our conclusion.