In
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
, predicate abstraction is the result of creating a
predicate
Predicate or predication may refer to:
* Predicate (grammar), in linguistics
* Predication (philosophy)
* several closely related uses in mathematics and formal logic:
**Predicate (mathematical logic)
**Propositional function
**Finitary relation, o ...
from a
sentence. If Q is any formula then the predicate abstract formed from that sentence is (λy.Q), where λ is an
abstraction operator and in which every occurrence of y occurs bound by λ in (λy.Q). The resultant predicate (λx.Q(x)) is a monadic predicate capable of taking a term t as argument as in (λx.Q(x))(t), which says that the object denoted by 't' has the property of being such that Q.
The ''law of abstraction'' states ( λx.Q(x) )(t) ≡ Q(t/x) where Q(t/x) is the result of replacing all free occurrences of x in Q by t. This law is shown to fail in general in at least two cases: (i) when t is irreferential and (ii) when Q contains
modal operator
A modal connective (or modal operator) is a logical connective for modal logic. It is an operator which forms propositions from propositions. In general, a modal operator has the "formal" property of being non- truth-functional in the following se ...
s.
In
modal logic the "''de re'' / ''de dicto'' distinction" is stated as
1. (DE DICTO):
2. (DE RE):
.
In (1) the modal operator applies to the formula A(t) and the term t is within the scope of the modal operator. In (2) t is ''not'' within the scope of the modal operator.
References
For the semantics and further philosophical developments of predicate abstraction see Fitting and Mendelsohn, ''First-order Modal Logic'',
Springer
Springer or springers may refer to:
Publishers
* Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag.
** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
, 1999.
Modal logic
Philosophical logic
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