Prove that (A \ B) ∩ (B \ A) = ∅ using mostly formal logic

Ozma

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Oct 14, 2020
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Let A,BA,B be subsets of a set XX. I wanted to know if the following proof of (AB)(BA)=(A\setminus B) \cap (B\setminus A) = \varnothing is correct from a logical point of view: I know there are simpler proofs, but I wanted to improve my skill with formal logic.

Proof: x,(xAxAxBxB)\exists x, (x \in A \wedge x \notin A \wedge x \in B \wedge x \notin B) is false for each xXx \in X, so x,(xAxAxBxB)\nexists x, (x \in A \wedge x \notin A \wedge x \in B \wedge x \notin B) is true for each xXx \in X. Hence, by associativity and commutativity of logical disjunction, we deduce that x,((xAxB)(xBxA))\nexists x, ((x \in A \wedge x \notin B) \wedge (x \in B \wedge x \notin A)) is true for each xXx \in X. So, x,((xAB)(xBA))\nexists x, ((x \in A \setminus B) \wedge (x \in B \setminus A)) is true for each xXx \in X; finally, x,(x(AB)(BA))\nexists x, (x\in (A \setminus B) \cap (B \setminus A)) is true for each xXx \in X and so (AB)(BA)=(A \setminus B) \cap (B \setminus A) = \varnothing is true.

Is this formally correct?
 
I don't see any serious flaws in there.

One minor objection: I find phrases like "x,P(x)\nexists x, P(x) ... is true for each xXx\in X" somewhat awkward/contradictory: if there is no such xx for which preidicate P(x)P(x) is true, then "is true for each xx" makes no sense to me.
 
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