Implikatsiya

Implikatsiya is a term used in logic and linguistics to denote an implicational relationship between statements. In formal logic, it most often refers to the implication connective, typically written as P → Q, with the reading “if P, then Q.” The word derives from Latin implicare, meaning to fold in or involve.

In propositional logic, the standard material implication P → Q is defined by a truth table: it is false only when P is true and Q is false; in all other cases it is true. This yields counterintuitive situations, such as P being false while P → Q remains true, or Q being true regardless of P. The contrapositive ¬Q → ¬P is logically equivalent to P → Q, highlighting a common property of implication. Implication is a non-symmetric relation and is distinct from causal or temporal notions; it expresses a dependence of truth rather than a direct cause-and-effect link.

Beyond pure logic, the concept of implication appears in mathematics and computer science to express conditional statements and deduction rules. In natural language, the form “if ... then ...” may carry pragmatic or contextual meanings that extend beyond the literal content, a phenomenon studied under implicature in linguistics. The term implicature refers to implied meaning inferred by listeners or readers, not captured by the explicit proposition; in some languages, terms related to implication are used to denote both logical implication and such implied meanings.

Etymologically, the term stems from Latin implicare, to fold in, involve, illustrating how an antecedent condition binds a consequent.