contrapositive
Significado: In logic, the statement formed by negating both the hypothesis and conclusion of a conditional and reversing their order. If the original is 'if A then B,' the contrapositive is 'if not B then not A.'
The contrapositive is logically equivalent to the original conditional — if one is true, the other must be true as well. This makes it a powerful tool in mathematical proof, where proving the contrapositive is often easier than proving the original statement directly. Proof by contrapositive is closely related to, but distinct from, proof by contradiction. The term appears primarily in logic, mathematics, and philosophy courses, though the underlying reasoning pattern pervades legal and scientific argumentation.
Ejemplos
- The contrapositive of 'if it is raining then the ground is wet' is 'if the ground is not wet then it is not raining,' and both statements are logically equivalent. 如果下雨则地面是湿的'的逆否命题是'如果地面不湿则没有下雨',两个命题在逻辑上等价。La contrapositiva de «si llueve entonces el suelo está mojado» es «si el suelo no está mojado entonces no llueve», y ambos enunciados son lógicamente equivalentes.「雨が降っていれば地面が濡れている」の対偶は「地面が濡れていなければ雨は降っていない」であり、両方の命題は論理的に同値である。비가 오면 땅이 젖는다'의 대우는 '땅이 젖지 않았으면 비가 오지 않은 것이다'이며, 두 명제는 논리적으로 동치이다.
- The lecturer demonstrated that proving the contrapositive was far simpler than attempting a direct proof of the theorem. 讲师演示了证明逆否命题比尝试直接证明该定理要简单得多。El profesor demostró que probar la contrapositiva era mucho más sencillo que intentar una demostración directa del teorema.講師は、対偶を証明する方がその定理を直接証明しようとするよりもはるかに簡単であることを実演した。강사는 대우를 증명하는 것이 그 정리를 직접 증명하려는 것보다 훨씬 간단하다는 것을 시연했다.
- Lawyers frequently employ contrapositive reasoning: if the defendant had been present, evidence would exist — no evidence exists, therefore the defendant was not present. 律师经常运用逆否推理:如果被告当时在场,就会存在证据——但证据不存在,因此被告不在场。Los abogados emplean con frecuencia el razonamiento contrapositivo: si el acusado hubiera estado presente, existirían pruebas — no existen pruebas, por lo tanto el acusado no estaba presente.弁護士はしばしば対偶の推論を用いる。被告がその場にいたなら証拠が存在するはずだ——証拠は存在しない、ゆえに被告はその場にいなかった。변호사는 대우 추론을 자주 활용한다. 피고가 현장에 있었다면 증거가 존재할 것이다 — 증거가 존재하지 않으므로, 피고는 현장에 없었다.
Pronunciación
Guía de uso
Contexto: academic, scientific
Tono: neutral
Origen e historia
From Latin contra- (against, opposite) + positivus (placed, settled), from ponere (to place). The logical term was developed in medieval scholastic philosophy and formalised in modern symbolic logic.
Contexto cultural
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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