Related papers: Rethinking set theory
We consider the problem of formalizing the familiar notion of widening in abstract interpretation in higher-order logic. It turns out that many axioms of widening (e.g. widening sequences are ascending) are not useful for proving…
Choice functions constitute a simple, direct and very general mathematical framework for modelling choice under uncertainty. In particular, they are able to represent the set-valued choices that typically arise from applying decision rules…
This talk presents foundations of mathematics as a historically variable set of principles appealing to various modes of human intuition and devoid of any prescriptive/prohibitive power. At each turn of history, foundations crystallize the…
Ordinary and transfinite recursion and induction and ZF set theory are used to construct from a fully interpreted object language and from an extra formula a new language. It is fully interpreted under a suitably defined interpretation.…
In his book A Practical Theory of Programming, Eric Hehner proposes and applies a remarkably radical reformulation of set theory, in which the collection and packaging of elements are seen as separate activities. This provides for…
Since there are different ways of axiomatizing and developing a mathematical theory, knowledge about a such a theory may reside in many places and in many forms within a library of formalized mathematics. We introduce the notion of a realm…
Being mathematics a natural language to Mankind and to physics, it must be constantly adapted to our necessities and our natural perception. Then, mathematical concepts are not absolute to reality. Although mathematical theories are…
We introduce a generalized notion of inference system to support more flexible interpretations of recursive definitions. Besides axioms and inference rules with the usual meaning, we allow also coaxioms, which are, intuitively, axioms which…
We formulate physically-motivated axioms for a physical theory which for systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom uniquely lead to Quantum Mechanics as the only nontrivial consistent theory. Complex numbers and the existence of…
By probabilistic logic I mean a normative theory of belief that explains how a body of evidence affects one's degree of belief in a possible hypothesis. A new axiomatization of such a theory is presented which avoids a finite additivity…
Coherent sets of desirable gamble sets is used as a model for representing an agents opinions and choice preferences under uncertainty. In this paper we provide some results about the axioms required for coherence and the natural extension…
We introduce a set of eight universal Rules of Inference by which computer programs with known properties (axioms) are transformed into new programs with known properties (theorems). Axioms are presented to formalize a segment of Number…
"Mathematicians, like physicists, are pushed by a strong fascination. Research in mathematics is hard, it is intellectually painful even if it is rewarding, and you would not do it without some strong urge." [D. Ruelle]. We shall give some…
A theorem prover without an extensive library is much less useful to its potential users. Algebra, the study of algebraic structures, is a core component of such libraries. Algebraic theories also are themselves structured, the study of…
A knowledge system S describing a part of real world does in general not contain complete information. Reasoning with incomplete information is prone to errors since any belief derived from S may be false in the present state of the world.…
When reasoning in description, modal or temporal logics it is often useful to consider axioms representing universal truths in the domain of discourse. Reasoning with respect to an arbitrary set of axioms is hard, even for relatively…
We consider a set-theoretic version of mereology based on the inclusion relation $\subseteq$ and analyze how well it might serve as a foundation of mathematics. After establishing the non-definability of $\in$ from $\subseteq$, we identify…
People care about decision outcomes and how decisions get made, both when making decisions and reflecting on decisions. But formalizing the full range of normative concerns that drive decisions is an open challenge. We introduce Axiomatic…
After surveying classical results, we introduce a generalized notion of inference system to support structural recursion on non-well-founded data types. Besides axioms and inference rules with the usual meaning, a generalized inference…
We consider the foundational relation between arithmetic and set theory. Our goal is to criticize the construction of standard arithmetic models as providing grounds for arithmetic truth (even in a relative sense). Our method is to…