Universal quantification

In predicate logic, universal quantification formalizes the notion that something (a logical predicate) is true for everything, or every relevant thing. The resulting statement is a universally quantified statement, and we have universally quantified over the predicate. In symbolic logic, the universal quantifier (typically $\forall$, ∀, a turned A) is the symbol used to denote universal quantification, and is often informally read as "given any" or "for all".

Quantification in general is covered in the article on quantification.

Basics

Suppose it is given that

2·0 = 0 + 0, and 2·1 = 1 + 1, and 2·2 = 2 + 2, etc.

This would seem to be a logical conjunction because of the repeated use of "and." However, the "etc." cannot be interpreted as a conjunction in formal logic. Instead, the statement must be rephrased:

For all natural numbers n, 2·n = n + n.

This is a single statement using universal quantification.

This statement can be said to be more precise than the original one. While the "etc." informally includes natural numbers, and nothing more, this was not rigorously given. In the universal quantification, on the other hand, the natural numbers are mentioned explicitly.

This particular example is true, because any natural number could be substituted for n and the statement "2·n = n + n" would be true. In contrast,

For all natural numbers n, 2·n > 2 + n

is false, because if n is substituted with, for instance, 1, the statement "2·1 > 2 + 1" is false. It is immaterial that "2·n > 2 + n" is true for most natural numbers n: even the existence of a single counterexample is enough to prove the universal quantification false.

On the other hand, for all composite numbers n, 2·n > 2 + n is true, because none of the counterexamples are composite numbers. This indicates the importance of the domain of discourse, which specifies which values n can take. In particular, note that if the domain of discourse is restricted to consist only of those objects that satisfy a certain predicate, then for universal quantification this requires a logical conditional. For example,

For all composite numbers n, 2·n > 2 + n

is logically equivalent to

For all natural numbers n, if n is composite, then 2·n > 2 + n.

Here the "if ... then" construction indicates the logical conditional.

Notation

In symbolic logic, the universal quantifier symbol $\forall$ (a turned "A" in a sans-serif font, Unicode 0x2200) is used to indicate universal quantification. Thus if P(n) is the predicate "2·n > 2 + n" and N is the set of natural numbers, then:

$\forall n\!\in \!\mathbb {N} \;P(n)$

is the (false) statement:

For all natural numbers n, 2·n > 2 + n.

Similarly, if Q(n) is the predicate "n is composite", then

$\forall n\!\in \!\mathbb {N} \;{\bigl (}Q(n)\rightarrow P(n){\bigr )}$

is the (true) statement:

For all natural numbers n, if n is composite, then 2·n > 2 + n

and since "n is composite" implies that n must already be a natural number, we can shorten this statement to the equivalent:

For all composite numbers n, 2·n > 2 + n.

Several variations in the notation for quantification (which apply to all forms) can be found in the quantification article. There is a special notation used only for universal quantification, which is given:

$(n{\in }\mathbb {N} )\,P(n)$

The parentheses indicate universal quantification by default.

Properties

Negation

Note that a quantified propositional function is a statement; thus, like statements, quantified functions can be negated. The notation most mathematicians and logicians utilize to denote negation is: $\lnot \$. However, some (such as Douglas Hofstadter) use the tilde (~).

For example, if P(x) is the propositional function "x is married", then, for a Universe of Discourse X of all living human beings, the universal quantification

Given any living person x, that person is married

is given:

$\forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)$

It can be seen that this irrevocably false. Truthfully, it is stated that

It is not the case that, given any living person x, that person is married

or, symbolically:

$\lnot \ \forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)$.

If the statement is not true for every element of the Universe of Discourse, then, presuming the universe of discourse is non-empty, there must be at least one element for which the statement is false. That is, the negation of $\forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)$ is logically equivalent to "There exists a living person x such that he is not married", or:

$\exists {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,\lnot P(x)$

Generally, then, the negation of a propositional function's universal quantification is an existential quantification of that propositional function's negation; symbolically,

$\lnot \ \forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)\equiv \ \exists {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,\lnot P(x)$

It is erroneous to state "all persons are not married" (i.e. "there exists no person who is married") when it is meant that "not all persons are married" (i.e. "there exists a person who is not married"):

$\lnot \ \exists {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)\equiv \ \forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,\lnot P(x)\not \equiv \ \lnot \ \forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)\equiv \ \exists {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,\lnot P(x)$

Other connectives

The universal (and existential) quantifier moves unchanged across the logical connectives ∧, ∨, →, and $\nleftarrow$, as long as the other operand is not affected; that is:

$P(x)\land (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\land Q(y))$

$P(x)\lor (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\lor Q(y))$

$P(x)\to (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\to Q(y))$

$P(x)\nleftarrow (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\nleftarrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\land (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\land Q(y))$

$P(x)\lor (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\lor Q(y))$

$P(x)\to (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\to Q(y))$

$P(x)\nleftarrow (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\nleftarrow Q(y))$

Conversely, for the logical connectives ↑, ↓, $\nrightarrow$, and ←, the quantifiers flip:

$P(x)\uparrow (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\uparrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\downarrow (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\downarrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\nrightarrow (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\nrightarrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\gets (\exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\gets Q(y))$

$P(x)\uparrow (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\uparrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\downarrow (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\downarrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\nrightarrow (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\nrightarrow Q(y))$

$P(x)\gets (\forall {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,Q(y))\equiv \ \exists {y}{\in }\mathbf {Y} \,(P(x)\gets Q(y))$

Rules of inference

A rule of inference is a rule justifying a logical step from hypothesis to conclusion. There are several rules of inference which utilize the universal quantifier.

Universal instantiation concludes that, if the propositional function is known to be universally true, then it must be true for any arbitrary element of the Universe of Discourse. Symbolically, this is represented as

$\forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x)\to \ P(c)$

where c is a completely arbitrary element of the Universe of Discourse.

Universal generalization concludes the propositional function must be universally true if it is true for any arbitrary element of the Universe of Discourse. Symbolically, for an arbitrary c,

$P(c)\to \ \forall {x}{\in }\mathbf {X} \,P(x).$

The element c must be completely arbitrary; else, the logic does not follow: if c is not arbitrary, and is instead a specific element of the Universe of Discourse, then P(c) only implies an existential quantification of the propositional function.

The empty set

By convention, the formula $\forall {x}{\in }\emptyset \,P(x)$ is always true, regardless of the formula P(x); see vacuous truth.

Universal closure

The universal closure of a formula φ is another formula with no free variables, obtained by adding a universal quantifier for every free variable in φ. For example, the universal closure of

$P(y)\land \exists xQ(x,z)$

is

$\forall y\forall z(P(y)\land \exists xQ(x,z))$.

See also

• Existential quantification
• Quantifiers
• First-order logic

References

• Hinman, P. (2005). Fundamentals of Mathematical Logic. A K Peters. ISBN 1-568-81262-0.
• Franklin, J. and Daoud, A. (1996). Proof in Mathematics: An Introduction. Quakers Hill Press. ISBN 1-876192-00-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (ch. 2)