Conditional statement (logic): Difference between revisions

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{{Expert-subject|Mathematics|date=January 2012}}

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In [[philosophy]], [[logic]], and [[mathematics]], a '''conditional statement''' is a [[proposition]] that can be written in the form "If ''p'', then ''q''," where ''p'' and ''q'' are propositions. The proposition immediately following the word "if" is called the hypothesis (also called antecedent). The proposition immediately following the word "then" is called the conclusion (also called consequence). In the aforementioned form for conditional statements, ''p'' is the hypothesis and ''q'' is the conclusion. A conditional statement is often called simply a '''conditional''' (also called an '''implication'''). Unlike the [[material conditional]], a conditional statement need not be truth-functional.<ref>Barwise and Etchemendy 1999, p. 178-179</ref> Conditional statements are often [[symbolic logic|symbolized]] using an arrow (→) as ''p'' → ''q'' (read "''p'' implies ''q''"). The conditional statement in symbolic form is as follows:

* <math>p \rightarrow q</math>