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In logic, if S is a statement of the form "P implies Q", then the inverse of S is a statement of the form "not-P implies not-Q". In other words, the inverse is the contrapositive of the converse (or, equivalently, the converse of the contrapositive).

S and its inverse are not logical equivalents. For example, let S be the true statement "If I am a woman, then I am human". The inverse of S is the statement "If I am not a woman, then I am not human," which is not necessarily true.

A truth table makes it clear that S and the inverse of S are not logically equivalent:

Truth Table for an Implication and Its Inverse
P Q ¬P ¬Q PQ ¬P ⇒ ¬Q
T T F F T T
T F F T F T
F T T F T F
F F T T T T

See also


Logic

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Inverse (logic)".

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