4,502 research outputs found
Proof-theoretic Semantics and Tactical Proof
The use of logical systems for problem-solving may be as diverse as in
proving theorems in mathematics or in figuring out how to meet up with a
friend. In either case, the problem solving activity is captured by the search
for an \emph{argument}, broadly conceived as a certificate for a solution to
the problem. Crucially, for such a certificate to be a solution, it has be
\emph{valid}, and what makes it valid is that they are well-constructed
according to a notion of inference for the underlying logical system. We
provide a general framework uniformly describing the use of logic as a
mathematics of reasoning in the above sense. We use proof-theoretic validity in
the Dummett-Prawitz tradition to define validity of arguments, and use the
theory of tactical proof to relate arguments, inference, and search.Comment: submitte
lim+, delta+, and Non-Permutability of beta-Steps
Using a human-oriented formal example proof of the (lim+) theorem, i.e. that
the sum of limits is the limit of the sum, which is of value for reference on
its own, we exhibit a non-permutability of beta-steps and delta+-steps
(according to Smullyan's classification), which is not visible with
non-liberalized delta-rules and not serious with further liberalized
delta-rules, such as the delta++-rule. Besides a careful presentation of the
search for a proof of (lim+) with several pedagogical intentions, the main
subject is to explain why the order of beta-steps plays such a practically
important role in some calculi.Comment: ii + 36 page
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
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