Mathematical Logic by Cori and Lascar: Incomplete proof of Lemma 1.9?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the proof of Lemma 1.9 from the book "Mathematical Logic" by Cori and Lascar, specifically focusing on the validity of the proof presented in the book regarding the relationship between the number of opening and closing parentheses in propositional formulas. The scope includes theoretical aspects of mathematical logic and the implications of the proof structure.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant argues that the proof of Lemma 1.9 cannot be considered complete for any propositional formula F until it has been established for formulas containing parentheses and logical symbols such as ∧, ∨, ⇒, and ⇔.
  • Another participant suggests that the argument relies on lemma 1.6, which is not explicitly mentioned in the proof but is implied to be used for induction.
  • There is a mention of a specific statement Y(F) related to the equality of the number of opening and closing parentheses, indicating a deeper connection to the proof structure.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the completeness of the proof for Lemma 1.9, with some supporting the idea that it is incomplete while others suggest that it follows from lemma 1.6. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the validity of the proof as presented in the book.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted limitation regarding the visibility of certain pages of the book, which may affect the understanding of the proof and the application of lemma 1.6.

omoplata
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"Mathematical Logic" by Cori and Lascar: Incomplete proof of Lemma 1.9?

I have a question on the book "Mathematical Logic: Propositional calculus, Boolean Algebras, predicate calculus" by Rene Cori and Daniel Lascar.

Proof of Lemma 1.9 given on http://books.google.com/books?id=JB...tical logic cori&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false" is in three parts (bulleted list). Part 2 is where they prove that o[\neg F] \geq c[\neg F] for any propositional formula F. o[\neg F] is the number of opening parentheses in \neg F and c[\neg F] is the number of closing parentheses in \neg F.

My argument is that this cannot be proven YET for ANY formula F, because it hasn't been proven yet for formulas containing parentheses or the symbols \wedge , \vee , \Rightarrow , \Leftrightarrow. That is done in part 3. Part 2 proof is only correct for formulas containing propositional variables (since part 1 proves o[\neg P] \geq c[\neg P] for any propositional variable P ) and the symbol \neg.

Propositional formulas and propositional variables are defined in http://books.google.com/books?id=JB...atical logic cori&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false".

Am I correct or am I missing something?
 
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Hi omoplata! :smile:

You basically apply lemma 1.6 here (sadly I cannot see the book past that point).
 


Hello micromass :smile:

Only page 13 is missing. I uploaded it to http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h359/jacare_omoplata/page13.jpg" .
 
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They haven't mentioned lemma 1.6 in the proof :/
 


omoplata said:
They haven't mentioned lemma 1.6 in the proof :/

No, they haven't, but that's what they're using. They said that the prove it through induction, and lemma 1.6 basically describes how you need to prove something through induction.

In your example, we have Y(F) to be the statement o(F)=c(F)...
 


Oh, OK. I get it now. Thanks.
 

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