7,046 research outputs found
Definite Formulae, Negation-as-Failure, and the Base-extension Semantics of Intuitionistic Propositional Logic
Proof-theoretic semantics (P-tS) is the paradigm of semantics in which
meaning in logic is based on proof (as opposed to truth). A particular instance
of P-tS for intuitionistic propositional logic (IPL) is its base-extension
semantics (B-eS). This semantics is given by a relation called support,
explaining the meaning of the logical constants, which is parameterized by
systems of rules called bases that provide the semantics of atomic
propositions. In this paper, we interpret bases as collections of definite
formulae and use the operational view of the latter as provided by uniform
proof-search -- the proof-theoretic foundation of logic programming (LP) -- to
establish the completeness of IPL for the B-eS. This perspective allows
negation, a subtle issue in P-tS, to be understood in terms of the
negation-as-failure protocol in LP. Specifically, while the denial of a
proposition is traditionally understood as the assertion of its negation, in
B-eS we may understand the denial of a proposition as the failure to find a
proof of it. In this way, assertion and denial are both prime concepts in P-tS.Comment: submitte
Negation-as-Failure in the Base-extension Semantics for Intuitionistic Propositional Logic
Proof-theoretic semantics (P-tS) is the paradigm of semantics in which meaning in logic is based on proof (as opposed to truth). A particular instance of P-tS for intuitionistic propositional logic (IPL) is its base-extension semantics (B-eS). This semantics is given by a relation called support, explaining the meaning of the logical constants, which is parameterized by systems of rules called bases that provide the semantics of atomic propositions. In this paper, we interpret bases as collections of definite formulae and use the operational view of them as provided by uniform proof-search—the proof-theoretic foundation of logic programming (LP)—to establish the completeness of IPL for the B-eS. This perspective allows negation, a subtle issue in P-tS, to be understood in terms of the negation-as-failure protocol in LP. Specifically, while the denial of a proposition is traditionally understood as the assertion of its negation, in B-eS we may understand the denial of a proposition as the failure to find a proof of it. In this way, assertion and denial are both prime concepts in P-tS
Operational Semantics of Resolution and Productivity in Horn Clause Logic
This paper presents a study of operational and type-theoretic properties of
different resolution strategies in Horn clause logic. We distinguish four
different kinds of resolution: resolution by unification (SLD-resolution),
resolution by term-matching, the recently introduced structural resolution, and
partial (or lazy) resolution. We express them all uniformly as abstract
reduction systems, which allows us to undertake a thorough comparative analysis
of their properties. To match this small-step semantics, we propose to take
Howard's System H as a type-theoretic semantic counterpart. Using System H, we
interpret Horn formulas as types, and a derivation for a given formula as the
proof term inhabiting the type given by the formula. We prove soundness of
these abstract reduction systems relative to System H, and we show completeness
of SLD-resolution and structural resolution relative to System H. We identify
conditions under which structural resolution is operationally equivalent to
SLD-resolution. We show correspondence between term-matching resolution for
Horn clause programs without existential variables and term rewriting.Comment: Journal Formal Aspect of Computing, 201
Metalogic and the Overgeneration Argument
A prominent objection against the logicality of second-order logic is the so-called Overgeneration Argument. However, it is far from clear how this argument is to be understood. In the first part of the article, we examine the argument and locate its main source, namely, the alleged entanglement of second-order logic and mathematics. We then identify various reasons why the entanglement may be thought to be problematic. In the second part of the article, we take a metatheoretic perspective on the matter. We prove a number of results establishing that the entanglement is sensitive to the kind of semantics used for second-order logic. These results provide evidence that by moving from the standard set-theoretic semantics for second-order logic to a semantics which makes use of higher-order resources, the entanglement either disappears or may no longer be in conflict with the logicality of second-order logic
Logic Programming as Constructivism
The features of logic programming that
seem unconventional from the viewpoint of classical logic
can be explained in terms of constructivistic logic. We
motivate and propose a constructivistic proof theory of
non-Horn logic programming. Then, we apply this formalization
for establishing results of practical interest.
First, we show that 'stratification can be motivated in a
simple and intuitive way. Relying on similar motivations,
we introduce the larger classes of 'loosely stratified' and
'constructively consistent' programs. Second, we give a
formal basis for introducing quantifiers into queries and
logic programs by defining 'constructively domain
independent* formulas. Third, we extend the Generalized
Magic Sets procedure to loosely stratified and constructively
consistent programs, by relying on a 'conditional
fixpoini procedure
Logic of Negation-Complete Interactive Proofs (Formal Theory of Epistemic Deciders)
We produce a decidable classical normal modal logic of internalised
negation-complete and thus disjunctive non-monotonic interactive proofs (LDiiP)
from an existing logical counterpart of non-monotonic or instant interactive
proofs (LiiP). LDiiP internalises agent-centric proof theories that are
negation-complete (maximal) and consistent (and hence strictly weaker than, for
example, Peano Arithmetic) and enjoy the disjunction property (like
Intuitionistic Logic). In other words, internalised proof theories are
ultrafilters and all internalised proof goals are definite in the sense of
being either provable or disprovable to an agent by means of disjunctive
internalised proofs (thus also called epistemic deciders). Still, LDiiP itself
is classical (monotonic, non-constructive), negation-incomplete, and does not
have the disjunction property. The price to pay for the negation completeness
of our interactive proofs is their non-monotonicity and non-communality (for
singleton agent communities only). As a normal modal logic, LDiiP enjoys a
standard Kripke-semantics, which we justify by invoking the Axiom of Choice on
LiiP's and then construct in terms of a concrete oracle-computable function.
LDiiP's agent-centric internalised notion of proof can also be viewed as a
negation-complete disjunctive explicit refinement of standard KD45-belief, and
yields a disjunctive but negation-incomplete explicit refinement of
S4-provability.Comment: Expanded Introduction. Added Footnote 4. Corrected Corollary 3 and 4.
Continuation of arXiv:1208.184
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