On the Law of Importation $(x \wedge y) \longrightarrow z \equiv (x \longrightarrow (y \longrightarrow z))$ in Fuzzy Logic

The law of importation, given by the equivalence (x Lambda y) rarr z equiv (xrarr (y rarr z)), is a tautology in classical logic. In A-implications defined by Turksen et aL, the above equivalence is taken as an axiom. In this paper, we investigate the general form of the law of importation J(T(x, y), z) = J(x, J(y, z)), where T is a t-norm and J is a fuzzy implication, for the three main classes of fuzzy implications, i.e., R-, S- and QL-implications and also for the recently proposed Yager's classes of fuzzy implications, i.e., f- and g-implications. We give necessary and sufficient conditions under which the law of importation holds for R-, S-, f- and g-implications. In the case of QL-implications, we investigate some specific families of QL-implications. Also, we investigate the general form of the law of importation in the more general setting of uninorms and t-operators for the above classes of fuzzy implications. Following this, we propose a novel modified scheme of compositional rule of inference (CRI) inferencing called the hierarchical CRI, which has some advantages over the classical CRI. Following this, we give some sufficient conditions on the operators employed under which the inference obtained from the classical CRI and the hierarchical CRI become identical, highlighting the significant role played by the law of importation.