First-Order Logic and Automated Theorem Proving


Book Description

There are many kinds of books on formal logic. Some have philosophers as their intended audience, some mathematicians, some computer scientists. Although there is a common core to all such books they will be very dif ferent in emphasis, methods, and even appearance. This book is intended for computer scientists. But even this is not precise. Within computer sci ence formal logic turns up in a number of areas, from program verification to logic programming to artificial intelligence. This book is intended for computer scientists interested in automated theorem proving in classical logic. To be more precise yet, it is essentially a theoretical treatment, not a how-to book, although how-to issues are not neglected. This does not mean, of course, that the book will be of no interest to philosophers or mathematicians. It does contain a thorough presentation of formal logic and many proof techniques, and as such it contains all the material one would expect to find in a course in formal logic covering completeness but not incompleteness issues. The first item to be addressed is, what are we talking about and why are we interested in it. We are primarily talking about truth as used in mathematical discourse, and our interest in it is, or should be, self-evident. Truth is a semantic concept, so we begin with models and their properties. These are used to define our subject.




Automated Deduction in Classical and Non-Classical Logics


Book Description

This volume presents a collection of thoroughly reviewed revised full papers on automated deduction in classical, modal, and many-valued logics, with an emphasis on first-order theories. Five invited papers by prominent researchers give a consolidated view of the recent developments in first-order theorem proving. The 14 research papers presented went through a twofold selection process and were first presented at the International Workshop on First-Order Theorem Proving, FTP'98, held in Vienna, Austria, in November 1998. The contributed papers reflect the current status in research in the area; most of the results presented rely on resolution or tableaux methods, with a few exceptions choosing the equational paradigm.







Logics for Computer Science


Book Description

Providing an in-depth introduction to fundamental classical and non-classical logics, this textbook offers a comprehensive survey of logics for computer scientists. Logics for Computer Science contains intuitive introductory chapters explaining the need for logical investigations, motivations for different types of logics and some of their history. They are followed by strict formal approach chapters. All chapters contain many detailed examples explaining each of the introduced notions and definitions, well chosen sets of exercises with carefully written solutions, and sets of homework. While many logic books are available, they were written by logicians for logicians, not for computer scientists. They usually choose one particular way of presenting the material and use a specialized language. Logics for Computer Science discusses Gentzen as well as Hilbert formalizations, first order theories, the Hilbert Program, Godel's first and second incompleteness theorems and their proofs. It also introduces and discusses some many valued logics, modal logics and introduces algebraic models for classical, intuitionistic, and modal S4 and S5 logics. The theory of computation is based on concepts defined by logicians and mathematicians. Logic plays a fundamental role in computer science, and this book explains the basic theorems, as well as different techniques of proving them in classical and some non-classical logics. Important applications derived from concepts of logic for computer technology include Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering. In addition to Computer Science, this book may also find an audience in mathematics and philosophy courses, and some of the chapters are also useful for a course in Artificial Intelligence.




Classical and Nonclassical Logics


Book Description

Classical logic is traditionally introduced by itself, but that makes it seem arbitrary and unnatural. This text introduces classical alongside several nonclassical logics (relevant, constructive, quantative, paraconsistent).




Proof Theory and Automated Deduction


Book Description

Interest in computer applications has led to a new attitude to applied logic in which researchers tailor a logic in the same way they define a computer language. In response to this attitude, this text for undergraduate and graduate students discusses major algorithmic methodologies, and tableaux and resolution methods. The authors focus on first-order logic, the use of proof theory, and the computer application of automated searches for proofs of mathematical propositions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Goal-Directed Proof Theory


Book Description

Goal Directed Proof Theory presents a uniform and coherent methodology for automated deduction in non-classical logics, the relevance of which to computer science is now widely acknowledged. The methodology is based on goal-directed provability. It is a generalization of the logic programming style of deduction, and it is particularly favourable for proof search. The methodology is applied for the first time in a uniform way to a wide range of non-classical systems, covering intuitionistic, intermediate, modal and substructural logics. The book can also be used as an introduction to these logical systems form a procedural perspective. Readership: Computer scientists, mathematicians and philosophers, and anyone interested in the automation of reasoning based on non-classical logics. The book is suitable for self study, its only prerequisite being some elementary knowledge of logic and proof theory.




Handbook of Tableau Methods


Book Description

Recent years have been blessed with an abundance of logical systems, arising from a multitude of applications. A logic can be characterised in many different ways. Traditionally, a logic is presented via the following three components: 1. an intuitive non-formal motivation, perhaps tie it in to some application area 2. a semantical interpretation 3. a proof theoretical formulation. There are several types of proof theoretical methodologies, Hilbert style, Gentzen style, goal directed style, labelled deductive system style, and so on. The tableau methodology, invented in the 1950s by Beth and Hintikka and later per fected by Smullyan and Fitting, is today one of the most popular, since it appears to bring together the proof-theoretical and the semantical approaches to the pre of a logical system and is also very intuitive. In many universities it is sentation the style first taught to students. Recently interest in tableaux has become more widespread and a community crystallised around the subject. An annual tableaux conference is being held and proceedings are published. The present volume is a Handbook a/Tableaux pre senting to the community a wide coverage of tableaux systems for a variety of logics. It is written by active members of the community and brings the reader up to frontline research. It will be of interest to any formal logician from any area.




Alasdair Urquhart on Nonclassical and Algebraic Logic and Complexity of Proofs


Book Description

This book is dedicated to the work of Alasdair Urquhart. The book starts out with an introduction to and an overview of Urquhart’s work, and an autobiographical essay by Urquhart. This introductory section is followed by papers on algebraic logic and lattice theory, papers on the complexity of proofs, and papers on philosophical logic and history of logic. The final section of the book contains a response to the papers by Urquhart. Alasdair Urquhart has made extremely important contributions to a variety of fields in logic. He produced some of the earliest work on the semantics of relevant logic. He provided the undecidability of the logics R (of relevant implication) and E (of relevant entailment), as well as some of their close neighbors. He proved that interpolation fails in some of those systems. Urquhart has done very important work in complexity theory, both about the complexity of proofs in classical and some nonclassical logics. In pure algebra, he has produced a representation theorem for lattices and some rather beautiful duality theorems. In addition, he has done important work in the history of logic, especially on Bertrand Russell, including editing Volume four of Russell’s Collected Papers.