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If and Only If
If and Only If
If and only if
Logical symbols
representing iff
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, if and only if (shortened iff) is a biconditional
logical connective between statements.
In that it is biconditional, the connective can be likened to the standard material conditional ("only if", equal to "if ...
then") combined with its reverse ("if"); hence the name. The result is that the truth of either one of the connected
statements requires the truth of the other, i.e., either both statements are true, or both are false. It is controversial
whether the connective thus defined is properly rendered by the English "if and only if", with its pre-existing
meaning. There is nothing to stop one from stipulating that we may read this connective as "only if and if", although
this may lead to confusion.
In writing, phrases commonly used, with debatable propriety, as alternatives to P "if and only if" Q include Q is
necessary and sufficient for P, P is equivalent (or materially equivalent) to Q (compare material implication), P
precisely if Q, P precisely (or exactly) when Q, P exactly in case Q, and P just in case Q. Many authors regard "iff"
as unsuitable in formal writing; others use it freely.[citation needed]
In logic formulae, logical symbols are used instead of these phrases; see the discussion of notation.
Definition
The truth table of p q is as follows:[1]
Iff
p q pq
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T
Note that it is equivalent to that produced by the XNOR gate, and opposite to that produced by the XOR gate.
Usage
Notation
The corresponding logical symbols are "", "" and "", and sometimes "iff". These are usually treated as
equivalent. However, some texts of mathematical logic (particularly those on first-order logic, rather than
propositional logic) make a distinction between these, in which the first, , is used as a symbol in logic formulas,
while is used in reasoning about those logic formulas (e.g., in metalogic). In ukasiewicz's notation, it is the
prefix symbol 'E'.
Another term for this logical connective is exclusive nor.
If and only if
Proofs
In most logical systems, one proves a statement of the form "P iff Q" by proving "if P, then Q" and "if Q, then P".
Proving this pair of statements sometimes leads to a more natural proof, since there are not obvious conditions in
which one would infer a biconditional directly. An alternative is to prove the disjunction "(P and Q) or (not-P and
not-Q)", which itself can be inferred directly from either of its disjunctsthat is, because "iff" is truth-functional, "P
iff Q" follows if P and Q have both been shown true, or both false.
Origin of iff
Usage of the abbreviation "iff" first appeared in print in John L. Kelley's 1955 book General Topology.[2] Its
invention is often credited to Paul Halmos, who wrote "I invented 'iff,' for 'if and only if'but I could never believe I
was really its first inventor."
If and only if
So we see that (2), above, can be restated in the form of if...then as "If Madison will eat the fruit in question, then it is
an apple"; taking this in conjunction with (1), we find that (3) can be stated as "If the fruit in question is an apple,
then Madison will eat it; AND if Madison will eat the fruit, then it is an apple".
Advanced considerations
Philosophical interpretation
A sentence that is composed of two other sentences joined by "iff" is called a biconditional. "Iff" joins two sentences
to form a new sentence. It should not be confused with logical equivalence which is a description of a relation
between two sentences. The biconditional "A iff B" uses the sentences A and B, describing a relation between the
states of affairs which A and B describe. By contrast "A is logically equivalent to B" mentions both sentences: it
describes a logical relation between those two sentences, and not a factual relation between whatever matters they
describe. See usemention distinction for more on the difference between using a sentence and mentioning it.
The distinction is a very confusing one, and has led many a philosopherWikipedia:Avoid weasel words astray.
Certainly it is the case that when A is logically equivalent to B, "A iff B" is true. But the converse does not hold.
Reconsidering the sentence:
If and only if the fruit is an apple will Madison eat it.
There is clearly no logical equivalence between the two halves of this particular biconditional. For more on the
distinction, see W. V. Quine's Mathematical Logic, Section 5.
One way of looking at "A if and only if B" is that it means "A if B" (B implies A) and "A only when B" (not B
implies not A). "Not B implies not A" means A implies B, so then there is two way implication.
Definitions
In philosophy and logic, "iff" is used to indicate definitions, since definitions are supposed to be universally
quantified biconditionals. In mathematics and elsewhere, however, the word "if" is normally used in definitions,
rather than "iff". This is due to the observation that "if" in the English language has a definitional meaning, separate
from its meaning as a propositional connective. This separate meaning can be explained by noting that a definition
(for instance: A group is "abelian" if it satisfies the commutative law; or: A grape is a "raisin" if it is well dried) is
not an equivalence to be proved, but a rule for interpreting the term defined.
Examples
Here are some examples of true statements that use "iff" - true biconditionals (the first is an example of a definition,
so it would normally have been written with "if"):
A person is a bachelor iff that person is a marriageable man who has never married.
"Snow is white" in English is true iff "Schnee ist wei" in German is true.
For any p, q, and r: (p&q)&r iff p&(q&r). (Since this is written using variables and "&", the statement would
usually be written using "", or one of the other symbols used to write biconditionals, in place of "iff").
For any real numbers x and y, x=y+1 iff y=x1.
A subset containing n elements of an n-dimensional vector space is linearly independent iff it spans the vector
space.
The triangular number n(n+1)/2 is an even perfect number iff n = 2p-1 is a Mersenne prime, with p being a prime
number. As of Feb 2013, only 48 such even perfect numbers and Mersenne primes have been discovered.
y(x) is a solution to the differential equation y=f(x,y) if and only if the curve associated with y(x) is an integral
curve of the direction field associated with y=f(x,y).
If and only if
Analogs
Other words are also sometimes emphasized in the same way by repeating the last letter; for example orr for "Or and
only Or" (the exclusive disjunction).
The statement "(A iff B)" is equivalent to the statement "(not A or B) and (not B or A)," and is also equivalent to the
statement "(not A and not B) or (A and B)".
It is also equivalent to: not[(A or B) and (not A or not B)],
or more simply:
[ ( A B ) ( A B ) ]
which converts into
[ ( A B) (A B) ]
and
[ ( A B) (A B) ]
which were given in verbal interpretations above.
Notes
[1] p <=> q (http:/ / www. wolframalpha. com/ input/ ?i=p+ <=>+ q). Wolfram|Alpha
[2] General Topology, reissue ISBN 978-0-387-90125-1
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