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Propositional variables with no object variables such as x and y attached to predicate letters such as Px and xRy, having instead individual constants a, b, ..attached to predicate letters are propositional constants Pa, aRb. These propositional constants are atomic propositions, not containing propositional operators.
According to Clarence Lewis, "A proposition is any expression which is either true or false; a propositional function is an expression, containing one or more variables, which becomes a proposition when each of the variables is replaced by some one of its values from a discourse domain of individuals."
∀P (∀x (Px ↔ (Cube(x) ∨ Tet(x))) → ¬ ∃x (Px ∧ Dodec(x))). Second-order quantification is especially useful because it gives the ability to express reachability properties. For example, if Parent( x , y ) denotes that x is a parent of y , then first-order logic cannot express the property that x is an ancestor of y .
If D is a domain of x and P(x) is a predicate dependent on object variable x, then the universal proposition can be expressed as ∀ x ∈ D P ( x ) . {\displaystyle \forall x\!\in \!D\;P(x).} This notation is known as restricted or relativized or bounded quantification .
It is usually denoted by the logical operator symbol ∃, which, when used together with a predicate variable, is called an existential quantifier (" ∃x" or "∃(x)" or "(∃x)" [1]). Existential quantification is distinct from universal quantification ("for all"), which asserts that the property or relation holds for all members of the domain.
Omitting parentheses with regards to a single-variable NOT: While ~(a) where a is a single variable is perfectly clear, ~a is adequate and is the usual way this literal would appear. When the NOT is over a formula with more than one symbol, then the parentheses are mandatory, e.g. ~(a ∨ b).
A formula evaluates to true or false given an interpretation and a variable assignment μ that associates an element of the domain of discourse with each variable. The reason that a variable assignment is required is to give meanings to formulas with free variables, such as y = x {\displaystyle y=x} .
A Boolean-valued function (sometimes called a predicate or a proposition) is a function of the type f : X → B, where X is an arbitrary set and where B is a Boolean domain, i.e. a generic two-element set, (for example B = {0, 1}), whose elements are interpreted as logical values, for example, 0 = false and 1 = true, i.e., a single bit of information.