Re:“Computer science is not about computers”
by momentoftop on Sunday May 30, 2021 @10:21AM
(#27333428)
Sometimes, the strategy of proving ~P by showing how P entails absurdity is called "proof by negation". The phrase "proof by contradiction" is then reserved for the strategy of proving P by showing how ~P entails absurdity.
On that usage, constructivists are happy with all proofs by negation, but not generally happy with proofs by contradiction.
OTOH, there's another kind of contradiction proof:
Written with function notation, this becomes P <-> (¬ P -> ⊥)But if we unfold the definition of negation, we have that
The left to right direction holds classically and constructive, but the right to left direction uses double negation, which can is equivalent to the law of the excluded middle, AKA classical reasoning.