Philosophy Formal Logic Questions Medium
In formal logic, a tautology and a contradiction are two opposite types of statements.
A tautology is a statement that is always true, regardless of the truth values of its individual components. It is a logical truth that holds under all possible interpretations. In other words, a tautology is a statement that is true in every possible scenario. For example, the statement "A or not A" is a tautology because it is always true, regardless of the truth value of A.
On the other hand, a contradiction is a statement that is always false, regardless of the truth values of its individual components. It is a logical falsehood that holds under no possible interpretation. In other words, a contradiction is a statement that is false in every possible scenario. For example, the statement "A and not A" is a contradiction because it is always false, regardless of the truth value of A.
In summary, the main difference between a tautology and a contradiction in formal logic is that a tautology is always true, while a contradiction is always false. Tautologies are logical truths that hold under all possible interpretations, whereas contradictions are logical falsehoods that hold under no possible interpretation.