- Book Chapter
20
- 10.1007/978-94-007-7548-0_4
Natural Deduction for Equality: The Missing Entity
- Jan 01, 2014
- Ruy J G B De Queiroz + 1 more +1
The conception of the very first decision procedures for first-order sentences brought about the need for giving citizenship to function symbols (e.g. Skolem functions). We argue that a closer look at proof procedures for first-order sentences with equality brings about the need for introducing (function) symbols for rewrites. This is appropriately done via the framework of labelled natural deduction which allows to formulate a proof theory for the “logical connective” of propositional equality. The basic idea is that when analysing an equality sentence into (i) proof conditions (introduction) and (ii) immediate consequences (elimination), it becomes clear that we need to bring in identifiers (i.e. function symbols) for sequences of rewrites, and this is what we claim is the missing entity in P. Martin-Löf’s equality types (both intensional and extensional). What we end up with is a formulation of what appears to be a middle ground solution to the ‘intensional’ versus ‘extensional’ dichotomy which permeates most of the work on characterizing propositional equality in natural deduction style. (Part of this material was presented at the Logical Methods in the Humanities Seminar, Stanford University, and the authors would like to thank Solomon Feferman and Grigori Mints for their comments and suggestions.)
Read more