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I refer to Stephen Cole Kleene, Mathematical Logic (1967 - Dover reprint : 2002).

At pag.118 he introduces the Derived Rules for quantifiers in Predicate Calculus, beginning with $\forall$-intro : if $\Gamma\vdash A(x)$ then $\Gamma\vdash \forall x A(x)$ , provided that x is not free in $\Gamma$.

At pag.119 he comments on the necessity of the proviso:

Except for this proviso, Example 13.3 [pag.58] would apply and give $"A(x)\vdash\forall xA(x)"$. That however does not hold; for then [...] we would have $"A(x) ⊨ \forall xA(x)"$; and this is not the case.

But in Intro to Metamathematics [1952] Kleene uses as Derived Rule a $\forall$-intro in the form : $"A(x) / \forall xA(x)"$.

Why this does not cause him troubles in IM ?

  • Possibly related: http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/579609/ac-to-forall-x-ax-not-valid-even-though-ac-can-be-used-to-prove-f – Carl Mummert Nov 25 '13 at 12:55
  • I'm not sure to understand your reference. I agree with you that in general NOT $"A(x)\vdash\forall xA(x)"$, because if so, then we would have $"A(x) ⊨ \forall xA(x)"$ and this is not the case because NOT $"⊨ A(x) \rightarrow \forall xA(x)"$. But again my trouble is with the formulation in Kleene's Introduction to Metamathematics [1952] of the Derived Rule $\forall$-intro as : $"A(x) \vdash \forall xA(x)"$. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 25 '13 at 14:01
  • Which page of Kleene 1952 are you looking at? – Carl Mummert Nov 25 '13 at 14:37
  • Introduction and Elimination rules (derived rules) are stated in IM around pag.100 . I will check. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 25 '13 at 14:57
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    In particular, I do not see the "slash" notation "$A(x) / \forall x A(x)$ that is quoted in the question. I do see $A(x) \vdash^x (\forall x)A(x)$ on page 99, but that is clearly marked as $\vdash^x$ rather than $\vdash$ – Carl Mummert Nov 25 '13 at 15:01
  • You are right, but I have still some problem with the correct interpretation of $\vdash^x$ (see my question about "Correct interpretation of Kleene (Intro to Metamathematics) symbol ⊢ x in Predicate Calculus" asked Nov 21. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 25 '13 at 15:08
  • Basically, $A(x) \vdash^x \phi$ is a more precise way of stating what we might normally write as $(\forall x)A(x) \vdash \phi$. – Carl Mummert Nov 25 '13 at 15:49
  • Thanks. Tomorrow I will check the correct formulation of the Rule. My "feeling" (suse me ...) is that yours is the correct reading of the symbolism. But this still troubles me : if the $\forall$-intro is stated as "$A(x) \vdash^x \forall xA(x)$" , with the aforesaid reading it becomes : "$\forall xA(x) \vdash \forall xA(x)$" ... – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 25 '13 at 16:09
  • I am not saying that $A(x) \vdash^x \phi$ "literally" means $(\forall x) A(x) \vdash \phi$. But look at examples 5 and 6 on page 149 of Kleene 1952 and you will see that my interpretation gives the spirit of what $\vdash^x$ means. The only way to formally understand what $\vdash^x$ "really means" is to take the time to read Kleene 1952 in detail. – Carl Mummert Nov 25 '13 at 16:16
  • @Carl Mummert. Thanks a lot for your suggestion. During last month, I've completed a detailed re-reading of Kleene's Math Log (1967) and I'm around pag.200 of IM. In particular, I've written a 20 pages detailed list of proofs (I hope the correct ones) of IM Number Theory's theorems (from 100 up to 146b, adding some "minor" corollaries not explicitly stated by Kleene). It has been a useful (but laborious) experience. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 20 '13 at 13:31

2 Answers2

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First, a disclaimer. The key point to keep in mind is that Kleene 1952 was written by Kleene. Like much of his other writing, it is full of information and very carefully presented, but it requires substantial effort to unpack the information from its dense and formalistic arrangement. In particular, Kleene 1952 is written in the "classic" style which intends for the book to be read continuously from the beginning, rather than a more "modern" style in which the author expects the reader may randomly start reading at the statement of a theorem. At this point in time, I would view the study of Kleene 1952 are more about the history of mathematics, because modern presentations are more clear and use current terminology. Anyone who does want to learn from Kleene's books should expect the need to start on page 1 and work in a continuous way through the book, rather than trying to jump to particular theorems or compare Kleene directly to modern books.

With that said:

In general, there is always an issue with the relationship between $A(x)$ and $(\forall x) A(x)$ in first order logic. The real issue is how to understand the use of $A(x)$ as an assumption when $x$ is free in $A$. There are two approaches, using Kleene's terminology (Kleene 1952 p. 148, "Interpetation of formulas with free variables"; Kleene 1967 pp. 103-105):

  • The generality interpretation: assuming $A(x)$ is the same as assuming $(\forall x)A(x)$. This is the approach that Kleene takes in 1952.

  • The conditional interpretation: the axiom $A(x)$ merely means that some $x$ satisfies $A$, not that all $x$ do. For example, this is the approach used by Enderton, A Mathematical Introduction to Logic, 2001, and it is the approach Kleene emphasized more in 1967.

When an author sets up a deduction system for first-order logic, there are three interrelated theorems:

  1. The soundness and completeness theorem: If $\phi \models \psi$ if and only if $\phi \vdash \psi$

  2. The deduction theorem (which is also the $\to$ introduction rule): If $\phi \vdash \psi$ then $\vdash \phi \to \psi$

  3. The $\forall$ introduction rule: $\phi \vdash (\forall x)\phi$

These are correct without further hypotheses when $\phi$ and $\psi$ are sentences, but when they may have free variables there are several approaches, which add various restrictions to (1), (2), and (3). The exact restrictions will depend very much on whether the author wants to use the generality interpretation or the conditional interpretation. One author may restrict the statement of (1), while another may restrict (2) or (3).

For example, Enderton 2001 (page 117) states the deduction theorem in a very restricted way:

If $\Gamma \vdash \phi$ and $x$ does not occur free in any formula of $\Gamma$, then $\Gamma \vdash (\forall x)\phi$

In his 1967 book, Kleene sticks closer to the conditional interpretation; in his 1952 book, he sticks closer to the generality interpretation. But, in each case, he spends time explaining that there is a difference. From my perspective, it appears that Kleene did not seem to want to commit to either one, because he saw both as useful reflections of techniques in natural-language reasoning.

The distinction between the generality interpretation and the conditional interpretation pervades the entire literature on first-order logic. For example, books on model theory often seem to assume the conditional interpretation without comment, while books on universal algebra often seem to assume the generality interpretation without comment. To proceed formally it is necessary to take the entire deductive apparatus (results 1, 2, and 3 above) from a single book, rather than trying to splice together results from books that may take incompatible approaches. I believe that this is the reason for the disparity of results in the question: they are taken from different books that do not make the same choices about how to set up the deductive system.

As to the notation $\phi \vDash^x \psi$, Kleene 1967 defines it on page 106: basically, $\phi \vDash^x \psi$ means that $(\forall x)\phi \vDash \psi$ in the usual sense.

Carl Mummert
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  • Which book do you recommend over Kleene (Introduction to Metamathematics) as a modern reference? I like his careful writing style and particularly the fact that he presents first-order logic without set-theoretic language. – Randy Randerson Jul 28 '19 at 12:38
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$\forall$-introduction means 'if $\vdash A(x)$ then $\vdash \forall A(x)$' (that is, if you prove $A(x)$ without any assumption, then $\forall x A(x)$ is a theorem.) It is not equivalent to $A(x)\vdash \forall x A(x)$.

I think $A(x)/\forall x A(x)$ exactly means $$ \begin{array}{c} \vdash A(x)\\ \overline{\vdash\forall x A(x)} \end{array} $$

But I do not read this book so I do not certain it.

Hanul Jeon
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  • I agrre with you that in modern ML textbooks $\forall$-intro is usually stated as " if $\Gamma\vdash A(x)$ then $\Gamma\vdash \forall x A(x)$ " and then, putting $\Gamma = \emptyset$ we can obtain your rule (usually called "Weak Gen"). But above I copied the exat formulation of Kleene's book. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Nov 25 '13 at 12:41