I'm working with an exercise where I need to show that KB |= ~D.
And I know that the Knowledge Base is:
- (B v ¬C) => ¬A
- (¬A v D) => B
- A ∧ C
After converting to CNF:
A ∧ C ∧ (¬A v ¬B) ∧ (¬A v C) ∧ (A v B) ∧ (B v ¬D)
So now I have converted to CNF but from there, I don't know how to go any further. Would appreciate any help. Thanks!
The general resolution rule is that, for any two clauses (that is, disjunctions of literals)
P_1 v ... v P_n
and
Q_1 v ... v Q_m
in your CNF such that there is i and j with P_i and Q_j being the negation of each other, you can add a new clause
P_1 v ... v P_{i-1} v P_{i+1} ... v P_n v Q_1 v ... v Q_{j-1} v Q_{j+1} ... v Q_m
This is just a rigorous way to say that you can form a new clause by joining two of them, minus a literal with opposite "signs" in each.
For example
(A v ¬B)∧(B v ¬C)
is equivalent to
(A v ¬B)∧(B v ¬C)∧(A v ¬C),
by joining the two clauses while removing the opposites B and ¬B, obtaining A v ¬C.
Another example is
A∧(¬A v ¬C)
which is equivalent to
A∧(¬A v ¬C) ∧ ¬C.
since A counts as a clause with a single literal (A itself). So the two clauses are joined, while A and ¬A are removed, yielding a new clause ¬C.
Applying this to your problem, we can resolve A and ¬A v ¬B, obtaining ¬B.
We then resolve this new clause ¬B with B v ¬D, obtaining ¬D.
Because the CNF is a conjunction, the fact that it holds means that every clause in it holds. That is to say, the CNF implies all of its clauses. Since ¬D is one of its clauses, ¬D is implied by the CNF. Since the CNF is equivalent to the original KB, the KB implies ¬D.