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Single Idea 13840

[filed under theme 5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 5. First-Order Logic ]

Full Idea

First-order logic is the strongest complete compact theory with a Löwenheim-Skolem theorem.

Gist of Idea

First-order logic is the strongest complete compact theory with Löwenheim-Skolem

Source

Ian Hacking (What is Logic? [1979], §13)

Book Ref

'A Philosophical Companion to First-Order Logic', ed/tr. Hughes,R.I.G. [Hackett 1993], p.245


The 11 ideas from 'What is Logic?'

'Thinning' ('dilution') is the key difference between deduction (which allows it) and induction [Hacking]
Gentzen's Cut Rule (or transitivity of deduction) is 'If A |- B and B |- C, then A |- C' [Hacking]
Only Cut reduces complexity, so logic is constructive without it, and it can be dispensed with [Hacking]
With a pure notion of truth and consequence, the meanings of connectives are fixed syntactically [Hacking]
A decent modern definition should always imply a semantics [Hacking]
Perhaps variables could be dispensed with, by arrows joining places in the scope of quantifiers [Hacking]
If it is a logic, the Löwenheim-Skolem theorem holds for it [Hacking]
First-order logic is the strongest complete compact theory with Löwenheim-Skolem [Hacking]
A limitation of first-order logic is that it cannot handle branching quantifiers [Hacking]
Second-order completeness seems to need intensional entities and possible worlds [Hacking]
The various logics are abstractions made from terms like 'if...then' in English [Hacking]