The Sheffer functions of 3-valued logic

Abstract

In previous papers, Post, Webb, Götlind and the present author have described some Sheffer functions (in Swift's terminology, “independent binary generators”) in m-valued logic. Professor J. Dean Swift has recently isolated the symmetric Sheffer functions of 3-valued logic. In the present paper, we will prove some properties of Sheffer functions in m-valued logic and isolate all of the Sheffer functions of 3-valued logic.Before we proceed we will define some terms which we will find convenient. A set of functions in m-valued logic is functionally complete, if the set of the functions which can be defined explicitly from the functions of the set is exactly the set of all functions of m-valued logic. A function is functionally complete, if its unit set is functionally complete. A Sheffer function is a two-place functionally complete function. If i and j are truth values (1 i, j ≤ m), we will say i ~ j (D), if D is a decomposition of the truth values 1, …, m into 2 or more disjoint non-empty classes and i and j are elements of the same class. A binary function f(p, q) satisfies the substitution law for a decomposition D, if for any truth values h, i, j, k, whenever h ~ j (D) and i~k(D), then f(h, i) ~ f(j, k) (D). The function f(p,q) satisfies the co-substitution law for D, if for any truth values h, i, j, k, whenever f(h, i) ~ f(j, k) (D), then h ~ j (D) or i ~ k (D). We will say f(p, q) has the proper substitution property, if there is a decomposition of the truth values into less than m classes for which it satisfies the substitution law.