[FOM] "Literal"

[Haim Gaifman]

I agree it is not a good choice.
But by now it is so prevalent that
any change will probably add
confusion.
Haim Gaifman

Charles Silver wrote:
> 	Can anyone tell me who first defined the term "literal" for a  
> sentence in propositional logic that's either an atomic sentence or  
> the negation of one?   The earliest occurrence of the word used this  
> way that I've found is in Quine, 1959: "A way to simplify truth  
> functions".   I think it's an unfortunate name for this kind of  
> sentence and would welcome a better one, especially if it precede  
> Quine's.
>
> Charlie Silver
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