Logic – True, False, or Not-Defined Statements

logic

Is it correct to say that for a statement to be either true or false it has to be well defined?

For example: the statement
$$\frac{1}{0} = 1$$
is neither true nor false because the expression on the left simply isn't defined.

Or the statement:

sdfjinrivodinvr

is not true or false because it doesn't make sense.

Or are these "expressions" even statements if they are not well-defined?

Best Answer

One way to make precise the distinction you're trying to make is the notion of a well-formed formula in logic. Roughly speaking this is a formula which is built up from other formulas in a meaningful way, so it can be assigned some kind of meaning and it is meaningful to talk about whether or not it is true. A formula which is not well-formed does not in any meaningful sense have a truth value.

In a suitable formal system for talking about arithmetic operations, the expression $\frac{1}{0}$ is already not well-formed; division $\frac{a}{b}$ should only be well-formed if $b \neq 0$.