tautosság

Tautóság is a term used in linguistics and philosophy to describe a statement or proposition that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical structure. A tautology is inherently true and does not depend on empirical evidence or the state of the world for its truth value. For example, the statement "All bachelors are unmarried men" is a tautology because the definition of a bachelor is an unmarried man. The truth of this statement is contained within the meanings of the words themselves.

In logic, tautologies are often represented by symbolic formulas that are true for all possible truth-value assignments of their propositional variables. These are fundamental to propositional logic and are used to establish the validity of arguments. A statement that is a tautology cannot be false. The concept of tautology is distinct from a contingent statement, which is true or false depending on the circumstances in the world, and a contradiction, which is false by necessity.

The term "tautology" can also be used more broadly to refer to any statement that is trivially or redundantly true, often in a way that adds little new information. This usage can sometimes carry a negative connotation, implying a lack of substance. However, in its strict logical and philosophical sense, tautology is a cornerstone of reasoning and understanding how meaning and truth are constructed.