4

I'm taking a logic course, and so far we've seen

  1. Logical Symbols
  2. Logical Axioms
  3. Rules of Inference
  4. Non-Logical Symbols
  5. Non-Logical Axioms

Now, I'm confused about definitions.

  • Alphabet/Vocabulary = 1+2
  • Logic = 1+2+3 ?
  • Signature/Language $L$ = 4 OR Logic (implicitly)+4 ?
  • Theory = 5 OR Logic (implicitly)+5 ?
  • $L$-Theory = 4 (implicitly)+5 OR Logic (implicitly)+4 (implicitly)+5 ?

Also, I've seen Logic being defined as an ordered pair consisting of a function mapping alphabets to sets of formulae and a so-called satisfaction relation... or by means of institutions in category theory... I'm just confused as to what a logic ultimately really is, because even the most rigorous logic texts I could find begin their definitions at languages and vocabularies. Or, if not a universal definition, maybe at least what a logic consists of, i.e. foregoing technicalities, what needs to be defined to have a certain logic.

Perhaps the difficulty is that Rules of Inference are more Proof-theoretic and the other stuff more Model-Theoretic, but maybe you can help me anyway, it'd be much appreciatetd.

steve
  • 302
  • 2
    I must be conditioned by bad questions, but it took me a while to figure out that "1+2+3", etc. was refering to the numbers in the first list – Vsotvep Oct 01 '19 at 12:51
  • Sorry, the only alternative I thought of was $1\cup 2\cup 3$, but I figured that'd be even worse – steve Oct 01 '19 at 19:01

1 Answers1

5

We start with Symbols : either logical : $\to, \lnot, \land$ etc. (the connectives), the quantifiers and equality ($=$) and some auxiliary symbols (like parentheses).

In addition we need propositional variables : $p_0,p_1,\ldots$ for propositional logic as well as predicate symbols : $P,Q,\ldots$ and individual variables : $x_0,x_1,\ldots$ for predicate logic.

This is enough for the languages of "pure" logic : propositional calculus, predicate calculus.

If we want to develop some mathematical theory, we have to enlarge the language of predicate logic with specific mathematical symbols : $\in$ for set theory and $0,s(x),+,\times$ for arithmetical theory.

Usually, we call the list of the non-logical symbols of a language : signature.

Up to now, we have considered only symbols, i.e. the alphabet of the language. In order to have a language, we need also syntax, i.e. the rules to produce finite strings of symbols that are meaningful : the so-called well-formed formulas.

For propositional logic, $(p_0 \to p_1)$ is a wff while $\land p_0$ is not.

For predicate logic, $\forall x (Px \land Qx)$ is an example of wff.

Having defined the syntax of the language, we add the semantics to it, based on the concept of interpretation.


Up to now we have covered the Language : your points 1 and 4.

In order to develop a logical calculus, we need rules of inference : at least one (usually Modus Ponens) but often more than one, as well as some (maybe zero) logical axioms : this corresponds to your point 2 and 3.

We may call propositional calculus and predicate calculus with the general term : Logic.


Finally, in order to develop a mathematical theory, we have to add to the predicate calculus some specific mathematical axioms, like e.g. first order version of Peano's axioms for arithemtic or Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms for set theory (and this is point 5).


If we denote with $\text L$ a specific language, e.g. the language of predicate calculus with the mathematical symbol $\in$, we can use $\text L$-theory to denote a theory that uses language $\text L$.



For a more abstract definition, see e.g. Heinz-Dieter Ebbinghaus et alii Mathematical logic (Springer, 2nd ed.1994), Ch.XIII.1 Logical Systems :

In the following definition of a "logical system" we collect several properties which are shared by the logics we have considered so far. As we are mainly interested in semantic aspects, we shall speak of a logical system as soon as we have the following: We are given, for every symbol set $S$, an "abstract" set whose elements play the role of $S$-sentences, and in addition, a relationship between structures and such sentences which corresponds to the satisfaction relation, and determines whether an "abstract" sentence holds in a structure.

Definition. A logical system $\mathcal L$ consists of a function $L$ and a binary relation $\vDash_{\mathcal L}$. $L$ associates with every symbol set $S$ a set $L(S)$, the set of $S$-sentences of $\mathcal L$. The following properties are required: [...]

  • When you say "We may call propositional calculus and predicate calculus with the general term : Logic.", do you mean prop. calc. is a logic and pred. calc. is another logic? So logic = logical calculus? – steve Oct 01 '19 at 11:53
  • 1
    Also, why limit this conversation to propositional and predicate logic? I mean, doesn't that defeat the point of having a general conversation about all kinds of logics (infinitary, fuzzy, etc.)? – steve Oct 01 '19 at 11:55
  • @BlondCafé - they are the two most common examples of logical calculus. Having agreed on the basic machinery, the extension is straightforward : Modal Logic is propositional/predicate calculus with a new logical symbol : $\square$ (necessity) and the relevant logical axioms and rules, and so on. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Oct 01 '19 at 12:20
  • Alright, these are pretty clear definitions, which I appreciate a lot, but there's still another aspect to my question: to define a language/theory/$L$-theory, do you need to have already defined a logic (= calculus = logical system (?))? (Just like e.g. to define a $K$-Vector Space you clearly need to have defined a field $K$ beforehand) – steve Oct 01 '19 at 19:05