Quotient completion for the foundation of constructive mathematics

We apply some tools developed in categorical logic to give an abstract description of constructions used to formalize constructive mathematics in foundations based on intensional type theory. The key concept we employ is that of a Lawvere hyperdoctrine for which we describe a notion of quotient completion. That notion includes the exact completion on a category with weak finite limits as an instance as well as examples from type theory that fall apart from this.Comment: 32 page

On choice rules in dependent type theory

In a dependent type theory satisfying the propositions as types correspondence together with the proofs-as-programs paradigm, the validity of the unique choice rule or even more of the choice rule says that the extraction of a computable witness from an existential statement under hypothesis can be performed within the same theory. Here we show that the unique choice rule, and hence the choice rule, are not valid both in Coquand\u2019s Calculus of Constructions with indexed sum types, list types and binary disjoint sums and in its predicative version implemented in the intensional level of the Minimalist Founda- tion. This means that in these theories the extraction of computational witnesses from existential statements must be performed in a more ex- pressive proofs-as-programs theory

W-types in setoids

W-types and their categorical analogue, initial algebras for polynomial endofunctors, are an important tool in predicative systems to replace transfinite recursion on well-orderings. Current arguments to obtain W-types in quotient completions rely on assumptions, like Uniqueness of Identity Proofs, or on constructions that involve recursion into a universe, that limit their applicability to a specific setting. We present an argument, verified in Coq, that instead uses dependent W-types in the underlying type theory to construct W-types in the setoid model. The immediate advantage is to have a proof more type-theoretic in flavour, which directly uses recursion on the underlying W-type to prove initiality. Furthermore, taking place in intensional type theory and not requiring any recursion into a universe, it may be generalised to various categorical quotient completions, with the aim of finding a uniform construction of extensional W-types.Comment: 17 pages, formalised in Coq; v2: added reference to formalisatio

A realizability semantics for inductive formal topologies, Church's Thesis and Axiom of Choice

We present a Kleene realizability semantics for the intensional level of the Minimalist Foundation, for short mtt, extended with inductively generated formal topologies, Church's thesis and axiom of choice. This semantics is an extension of the one used to show consistency of the intensional level of the Minimalist Foundation with the axiom of choice and formal Church's thesis in previous work. A main novelty here is that such a semantics is formalized in a constructive theory represented by Aczel's constructive set theory CZF extended with the regular extension axiom

Inductive and Coinductive Topological Generation with Church's thesis and the Axiom of Choice

Here we consider an extension MFcind of the Minimalist Foundation MF for predicative constructive mathematics with the addition of inductive and coinductive definitions sufficient to generate Sambin's Positive topologies, i.e. Martin-L\"of-Sambin formal topologies equipped with a Positivity relation (used to describe pointfree formal closed subsets). In particular the intensional level of MFcind, called mTTcind, is defined by extending with coinductive definitions another theory mTTind extending the intensional level mTT of MF with the sole addition of inductive definitions. In previous work we have shown that mTTind is consistent with Formal Church's Thesis CT and the Axiom of Choice AC via an interpretation in Aczel's CZF+REA. Our aim is to show the expectation that the addition of coinductive definitions to mTTind does not increase its consistency strength by reducing the consistency of mTTcind+CT+AC to the consistency of CZF+REA through various interpretations. We actually reach our goal in two ways. One way consists in first interpreting mTTcind+CT+AC in the theory extending CZF with the Union Regular Extension Axiom, REA_U, a strengthening of REA, and the Axiom of Relativized Dependent Choice, RDC. The theory CZF+REA_U+RDC is then interpreted in MLS*, a version of Martin-L\"of's type theory with Palmgren's superuniverse S. A last step consists in interpreting MLS* back into CZF+REA. The alternative way consists in first interpreting mTTcind+AC+CT directly in a version of Martin-L\"of's type theory with Palmgren's superuniverse extended with CT, which is then interpreted back to CZF+REA. A key benefit of the first way is that the theory CZF+REA_U+RDC also supports the intended set-theoretic interpretation of the extensional level of MFcind. Finally, all the theories considered, except mTTcind+AC+CT, are shown to be of the same proof-theoretic strength.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1905.1196

A conservativity result for homotopy elementary types in dependent type theory

We prove a conservativity result for extensional type theories over propositional ones, i.e. dependent type theories with propositional computation rules, using insights from homotopy type theory. The argument exploits a notion of canonical homotopy equivalence between contexts, and uses the notion of a type-category to phrase the semantics of theories of dependent types. Informally, our main result asserts that, for judgements essentially concerning h-sets, reasoning with extensional or propositional type theories is equivalent.Comment: 67 pages, comments welcom