Truth Table: The basics

One of the methods used in symbolic logic is called table. With truth table we can determine
the validity/invalidity of arguments. [Truth table is also used for determining the value of
molecular propositions, logical equivalence, tautology, self-contradictory etc. [there are other
uses of truth tables which will be introduced to you in chapter 6.]

Truth Table for negation:

Negation reverses the truth value of a sentence/proposition. Truth value means being either
true or false. If a proposition (sentence) is true, its negation is false; and if a proposition is
false then its negation must be true. This is logicians’ definition of negation.

Let’s see it with the help of truth table. Suppose there is one sentence, say S. There are two
possibilities, ie, S is either true or false. In a truth table we show this as follows:

S (atomic sentence)
True
False

[Note: The above table only shows the atomic proposition and it tells you that there are two
situations if you have only 1 atomic proposition. I have made this for your understanding.
You don’t have to make this separately. Make the truth table for negation as is shown
below:]

Now the negation of this sentence is shown as follows:

S Not-S
True False
False True

The horizontal lines are called Rows in a truth table. They indicate the possible situations
(cases, facts or possibilities in the world). If there is only one proposition there are two
possibilities as shown above. In one situation (case) S is true, and in the other S is false.
More on it a little later.

The vertical lines are called Columns. They show propositions. First the atomic
sentences/propositions are written followed by molecular propositions/truth functions. [In the
above truth table, ‘S’ is Atomic proposition while ‘not-S’ is molecular.] The truth value of
molecular propositions is dependent on two factors, the truth value of atomic sentence plus
the logical connective that is being used. In the above example ‘not S’ is a molecular
proposition. Why?

Answer: There is a logical operator/connective (i.e., not) is employed and the truth value of
‘not S’ depends on the value of S and the role of the negation [not]. When ‘S’ is true; ‘not S’
is false. Molecular proposition is said to be truth function of its atomic proposition[s].

If you are told that atomic sentence ‘S’ is false, you can determine the value of molecular
proposition ‘not S’ is true (by putting the value of ‘S’ in the truth table).
[one of the purposes of truth table is to help in determining the value of molecular/
truth functional proportions].

Truth table for conjunction

Conjunction means joining two or more sentences with an ‘and’. The sentence ‘The sun is
shining and the day is hot’ is a conjunction. It is made up of two atomic/simple sentences.
One of them is ‘the sun is shining’ while the other one is ‘the day is hot’. This conjunctive
sentence is true when both sentences that make this sentence aretrue. Let’s see it with truth
table.
S: The sun is shining
H: The day is hot
(S&H): The sun is shining and the day is hot.

[Note: S, H are called atomic sentences because they do not contain any other sentence within
them. (S&H) is called molecular/complex proposition because it contains other propositions
within itself plus a logical operator/connective (i.e., &). Any proposition that contains a
logical operator/connective is molecular proposition. For example, ‘not-S’ is a molecular
proposition because it contains a logical connective ‘not’.]

When there is one atomic proposition, say S, there are two possibilities. ‘S’ is either true or
false. When there are two propositions ‘S’, ‘P’; there are four possibilities. These are as
follows: both S, H are true, both of them are false, S is true but H is false, and S is false but H
is true. These 4 possible situations are represented in the following Truth table. Only the
atomic propositions are shown here.

Atomic sentence Atomic sentence

S H
True True
True False
False True
False False

Note: You start the truth table by writing down the atomic propositions. You don’t have to
write ‘atomic proposition’ on top of them. It is understood. I have written this for your
convenience. Also, make the truth tree as shown below. The above is for your understanding
only. The truth table of (S&H) is as follows:

Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Truth functional proposition

(molecular proposition)
S H (S • H)
True True True
True False False
False True False
False False False
A conjunction is true when all the conjunts are true. It is false when one (or more)
conjunct is false.
Truth table for disjunction;

Disjunction means joining two or more sentences with ‘OR’. The symbol of disjunction is ‘v’
(it is called a wedge). The Disjunctive sentence ‘The sun is shining OR the day is hot’ is
made up of two simple/atomic sentence. Sentences making a disjunction are called disjuncts.
One of them is ‘the sun is shining’ while the other one is ‘the day is hot’.

A disjunction is true when one [or more] of its disjunt[s] is true. Put simply, If one
disjunct is true, the disjunction is true. A disjunction is false when all of its disjuncts are
false. Let’s see it with truth table.
S: The sun is shining
H: The day is hot
(S v H): The sun is shining OR the day is hot.

[Note: As discussed earlier, S, H are called atomic sentences because they do not contain any
other sentence within them. (S v H) is called molecular/compound proposition because it
contains other propositions within itself plus a logical connective. Any proposition that
contains a logical operator/connectives is a molecular proposition.]

As shown above, when there is one atomic proposition, say S, there are two possibilities. S is
either true or false. When there are two propositions S, P; there are four possibilities. These
are as follows: both S, H are true, both of them are false, S is true but H is false, and S is false
but H is true. See below:

Atomic sentence Atomic sentence

S H
True True
True False
False True
False False

Truth table for disjunction is as follows:

S H SvH
True True True
True False True
False True True
False False False

(S v H) is false when both disjuncts [‘S’, ‘H’] are false. It is true when any of its disjuncts is
true. Important to note here is that in symbolic logic, we consider disjunction in an inclusive
sense. In inclusive Disjunction, all disjuncts can be true. [we have already discussed this in
the class.] In the above truth table, the first Row in which both propositions [‘S’, ‘H’] are
true. Hence, his disjunction is inclusive.
 Truth table for conditionals:

Conditional means an ‘if…. then…’ proposition/sentence. The sentence after ‘if’ but before
‘then’ is called ‘Antecedent’. The one after the word ‘then’ is called consequent. The
symbols used for conditional is ⊃[which is called ‘horse shoe’] or →. The sentence ‘If the
sun is shining then the day is hot’ is made up of two simple/atomic sentences. One of them is
‘the sun is shining’ while the other one is ‘the day is hot’. In this example, ‘The Sun is
shinning’ is the Antecedent while the sentence ‘The day is hot’ is the consequent.

[Note: We have discussed in the past about conditional when we were discussing Modus
ponens, Modus Tollens etc. I have told you to treat conditionals as promisses].

A conditional is false in a case in which its Antecedent is true while its consequent is
false. It is true in all other situations. In other words, a conditional is true when either
its Antecedent is false or its consequent is true. Let’s see it with truth table.
S: The sun is shining
H: The day is hot
(If S then H): If the sun is shining then the day is hot. (S ⊃H)

Truth table for Conditional is as follows:

S H (S ⊃H)
True True True
True False False
False True True
False False True

[Short Cut: In the above example, the conditional ‘S ⊃ H’ is true in Rows 1, 3 and 4.
Please note that in Row 1 and Row 3, the consequent is true. Also note that in Row 4,
the antecedent is false. We can say that whenever the consequent is true the conditional
is true; also whenever the antecedent is false the conditional is true. ]

Another Example: Let’s make a truth table for ‘If the day is hot then the Sun is shining’. In
symbolic form, it is ‘If H then S’.

S H (H ⊃S)
True True True
True False True
False True False
False False True

Note: Whether you write ‘S’ in the first column or ‘H’ in the first column does not make any
difference. What is important is to put correct values in the sentence/proposition ‘If H then
S’. I reproduce the above table line by line:
The first line (Row): ‘If H then S’ is true. Why? Because, both antecedent and consequent is
true.

S H (H ⊃S)
True True True

The second line (Row): ‘If H then S’ is true. Why? Because the antecedent is false and
consequent is true.

S H (H ⊃S)
True False True

The third line (Row): ‘If H then S’ is false. Why? Because the antecedent [H] is true and
consequent [S] is false.

S H (H ⊃S)
False True False

The fourth line (Row): ‘If H then S’ is true. Why? Because both antecedent and consequent
are false.

S H (H ⊃S)
False False True
 Truth table for Bi-conditionals:

Bi-Conditional means a sentence of the form ‘A if and only if B’. The symbols used for bi-
conditional is ≡, or ↔. Sometimes, ‘Iff’ is also used expresses a bi-conditional. The
sentence ‘The sun is shining if and only if the day is hot’ is symbolized as ‘ The sun is
shining ≡ the day is hot’. See below:

S: The sun is shining

H: The day is hot
(S ≡ H): ‘The Sun is shining ≡ the day is hot.’

Truth tabe for Bi-conditional:

S H S≡H
True True True
True False False
False True False
False False True

‘S ≡ H’ is true when both ‘S’, H’ have same values. It is true in the first row because
both ‘S’, ‘H’ are true, and it is true in the fourth [Last] row where both ‘S’, ‘H’ are
false. Bi-conditional is false when sentences on each side of ≡ have different values. See
Row 3 and Row 4.

Note (S iff H): ‘The Sun is shining if and only if the day is hot’ means the following:

‘(The Sun is shining if the day is hot) & (if the sun is shining then the day is hot)’

In symbolic language, it is:

(S if H) & (If S then H)
(If H then S) & (if S then H)
(H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H)

Note: Strictly speaking, the above should have been written as {(H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H)}.
However, writing it like (H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H) is also fine. The reason is that this cannot be read
in any other way.
Let’s make a truth table for the above sentence.

Atomic Atomic First Second Conjunction of first and

sentence sentence conditional conditional second conditionals
S H (H ⊃ S) (S ⊃ H) (H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H)
True True True True True
True False True False False
False True False True False
False False True True True

See the last Column where the proposition (H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H) is given. The entire column is
the same as that of This is exactly the same as that of S ≡ H. What does this mean?
This means that ‘(H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃H)’ is logically equivalent to ‘S ≡ H’.

See the following Truth Table:

Atomic Atomic First Second Conjunction of first and Reproduced

sentence sentence conditional conditional second conditionals from above
table
S H (H ⊃ S) (S ⊃ H) (H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H) S≡ H
True True True True True True
True False True False False False
False True False True False False
False False True True True True

The last two columns are exactly the same. Hence, the two propositions are equivalent. The
last column [S ≡ H] was made by simply looking at the values of the atomic propositions
(‘S’,‘H’) whereas the column right before the last column [(H ⊃ S) • (S ⊃ H)] was made
after several steps. Since the two columns are exactly the same [throughout], the two
propositions are logically equivalent. This is how truth table helps us in determining the
logical equivalence of propositions.
 How to make Truth Tables

What are Rows and Columns of a truth table:

The horizontal lines are called Rows in a truth table. They indicate the possible situations
(cases, facts or possibilities in the world). If there is only one proposition there are two
possibilities as shown above. In one situation S is true and in the other S is false.

The vertical lines are called Columns. They show propositions. First the atomic
sentences/propositions are written followed by molecular propositions. Molecular
propositions always have a logical operator.

How do we make Truth Table? How do we know how many Rows a truth table must
have?

When there is one atomic proposition, say S, there are two possibilities. S is either true or
false. When there are two propositions S, P; there are four possibilities. These are as follows:
both S, H are true, both of them are false, S is true but H is false, and S is false but H is true.
That is there are 4 possible situations as shown below.

Atomic sentence Atomic sentence

S H
True True
True False
False True
False False

It must be clear by now that the number of Rows depend on the number of Atomic
propositions. If there is one Atomic proposition there are two possibilities. If there are two
Atomic Propositions, there are 4 possible cases as is shown above. It is easy to determine
how many situations are when there are 1 or 2 atomic propositions. It gets complicated when
there are 3 or more atomic propositions. We have to follow a method provided by a logician
named Boole for constructing a truth table. The method not only saves time and efforts but
also takes care of the entire range of possibilities in making a truth table. This is shown
below:

If there are three Atomic propositions, there will be 8 possibilities/there will be 8 Rows.
There is a formula for it. It is 2n [i.e., 2 raised to the power n], where ‘n’ represents the
number of atomic propositions and 2 in the formula shows that there are two values of
propositions, true or false. Let’s say we have 3 Atomic propositions, S, H, G. 23 [2 raised to
the power 3] = 2x2x2; that is 8. There will be 8 Rows.

Write down the Atomic propositions in the truth table. It doesn’t make any difference which
sentences is written first. Let’s write the atomic sentences as follows

Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Atomic sentence

S H G
We have three columns for the Atomic sentences. Each column has a unique value, beginning
with 2 raised to the power 0 [20], 2 raised to the power 1 [21], 2 raised to the power 2 [22 ],
and so on. [It is customary to assign the value 20 to the right most atomic proposition [see
below], then move to the columns to its left and assign values 21, 22, 23 …respectively.] It is
essential to note that no two columns can have the same value.

See below:

22 21 20
Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Atomic sentence
S H G

Any thing raised to the power 0 is 1. Propositions have 2 values, true and false. We have
already determined that there will be 8 Rows in all. In the column for Atomic Proposition G
assign one row as true and one row false in the following manner:

This column is 22 21 20
only made to show
you that there are
8 Rows.
Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Atomic sentence
S H G
1 True
2 False
3 True
4 False
5 True
6 False
7 True
8 False

The second column has the value 21, which is equal to 2. Put two true and two false in
column in the the following manner:

22 21 20
Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Atomic sentence
S H G
True True
True False
False True
False False
True True
True False
False True
False False
The third column has the value 22 [which means 2x2], which is 4. Put 4 true and 4 false as
done below.

22 21 20
Atomic sentence Atomic sentence Atomic sentence
S H G
True True True
True True False
True False True
True False False
False True True
False True False
False False True
False False False

If you do in this manner the first Row will be all true while the last one would be all false.
This helps in identifying clerical errors if any. Also note, not a single Row is
repeated/duplicated. Not a single possibility is missed out. This saves time as well.
Suppose we have 4 Atomic proportions (S, H, G, N). This is how you need to proceed.

1. Workout the Rows (24=16)

2. Assign value 20, 21, 22, 23 to the columns starting from the right.
3. Populate the columns with true, false values as shown below:

This column is 23 22 21 20
only made to
show you that
there are 16
Rows.
Atomic sentence Atomic Atomic sentence Atomic sentence
sentence
N S H G
1 True True True True
2 True True True False
3 True True False True
4 True True False False
5 True False True True
6 True False True False
7 True False False True
8 True False False False
9 False True True True
10 False True True False
11 False True False True
12 False True False False
13 False False True True
14 False False True False
15 False False False True
16 False False False False
Truth Table with 5 Atomic sentences [G, H, S, H, N, O]. 25 =2x2x2x2x2= 32. See below:

After determining the number of Rows (which is 32) the columns would be populated as per
the following pattern. One of the column has 1 true 1 false pattern, there will be a column
having 2 true followed by 2 false patterns, then a column with 4 true followed by 4 false
pattern, a column will have 8 true followed by 8 false pattern, and a column with 16 true and
16 false pattern. Why? Because of the formula for columns (i.e., 20, 21, 22, 23 ,24) as shown
below. [Remember: No two columns have the same 2n value.]

24 23 22 21 20
This O N S H G
column is
made for
convenience
sake.
1 True True True True True
2 True True True True False
3 True True True False True
4 True True True False False
5 True True False True True
6 True True False True False
7 True True False False True
8 True True False False False
9 True False True True True
10 True False True True False
11 True False True False True
12 True False True False False
13 True False False True True
14 True False False True False
15 True False False False True
16 True False False False False
17 False True True True True
18 False True True True False
19 False True True False True
20 False True True False False
21 False True False True True
22 False True False True False
23 False True False False True
24 False True False False False
25 False False True True True
26 False False True True False
27 False False True False True
28 False False True False False
29 False False False True True
30 False False False True False
31 False False False False True
32 False False False False False