Can Predicate Logic Capture Language and Gender Assumptions?

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The discussion focuses on representing specific sentences in first-order logic and predicate calculus. The sentence "Every student who takes French passes it" is expressed as ∀x (Student(x) ∧ Takes(x, French) → Passes(x, French)). The statement "All Germans speak the same languages" is represented as ∀x (German(x) → ∀l (Speaks(x, l))). To infer the fact Female(Laura) from the facts Male(Jim) and Spouse(Jim, Laura), the necessary axiom is that being a spouse implies one is male and the other is female, represented as Spouse(Jim, Laura) → Female(Laura). Additionally, alternative representations for gender relationships are suggested, such as defining male and female as mutually exclusive.
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Represent this sentence in first-order logic:
Every student who takes French passes it.

Represent the sentence "All Germans speak the same languages" in predicate calculus. Use Speaks(x, l), meaning that person x speaks language l.

What axiom is needed to infer the fact Female(Laura) given the facts Male(Jim) and Spouse(Jim, Laura)?
 
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Johnny Leong said:
Represent this sentence in first-order logic:
Every student who takes French passes it.

Represent the sentence "All Germans speak the same languages" in predicate calculus. Use Speaks(x, l), meaning that person x speaks language l.

What axiom is needed to infer the fact Female(Laura) given the facts Male(Jim) and Spouse(Jim, Laura)?
Hopefully, you can figure out the actual syntax yourself (I can't) but it might be helpful to see the first sentence as:

For all students, s, (s takes French) --> (s passes French)

For the third one, the axiom would be that only a male and a female can be spouses. Maybe:

For all x, y, (Spouse(x,y)) --> (male(x) <--> female(y))

Maybe also

For all x, male(x) <--> ~female(x)
OR
For all x, male(x) <--> !female(x)
depending on what notation you're using.
 


1. ∀x (Student(x) ∧ Takes(x, French) → Passes(x, French))
2. ∀x (German(x) → ∀l (Speaks(x, l)))
3. Spouse(Jim, Laura) → Female(Laura)
 
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