Skip to main content
Log in

On The Logic Of Reducibility: Axioms And Examples

  • Published:
Erkenntnis Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper is an investigation into what could be a goodexplication of ``theory S is reducible to theory T''. Ipresent an axiomatic approach to reducibility, which is developedmetamathematically and used to evaluate most of the definitionsof ``reducible'' found in the relevant literature. Among these,relative interpretability turns out to be most convincing as ageneral reducibility concept, proof-theoreticalreducibility being its only serious competitor left. Thisrelation is analyzed in some detail, both from the point of viewof the reducibility axioms and of modal logic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Adams, E.: 1955, Axiomatic Foundations of Rigid Body Mechanics, Stanford University.

  • Adams, E.: 1959, ‘The Foundations of Rigid Body Mechanics and the Derivation of its Laws from Those of Particle Mechanics', in Henkin, Suppes, Tarski (eds), The Axiomatic Method, North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balzer, W.: 1982, Empirische Theorien: Modelle, Strukturen,Beispiele, Vieweg, Braunschweig.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balzer, W., D. Pearce, and H.-J. Schmidt: 1984, Reduction in Science, Reidel, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benthem van, J. and D. Pearce: 1984, ‘A Mathematical Characterization of Interpretation between Theories', Studia Logica 43, 295–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berarducci, A.: 1990, ‘The Interpretability Logic of Peano Arithmetic', Journal of Symbolic Logic 55, 1059–1089.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonevac, D.: 1982, Reduction in the Abstract Sciences, Hackett, Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boolos, G.: 1993, The Logic of Provability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, W., S. Feferman, W. Pohlers, and W. Sieg: 1981, Iterated Inductive Definitions: Recent Proof-Theoretical Studies, Springer, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eberle, R.: 1971, ‘Replacing One Theory by Another under Preservation of a Given Feature', Philosophy of Science 38, 486–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feferman, S.: 1960, ‘Arithmetization of Metamathematics in a General Setting', Fundamenta Mathematicae XLIX, 35–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feferman, S.: 1988, ‘Hilbert's Program Relativized: Proof-Theoretical and Foundational Reductions', Journal of Symbolic Logic 53, 364–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feferman, S.: 1993, ‘What Rests on What? The Proof-Theoretic Analysis of Mathematics', in J. Czermak (ed.), Philosophie der Mathematik, Akten des 15. Internationalen Wittgenstein-Symposiums, Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Wien, pp. 147–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feferman, S., G. Kreisel, and S. Orey: 1962, ‘1–Consistency and Faithful Interpretations', Archiv für Mathematische Logik und Grundlagenforschung 6, 52–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gajda, A., M. Krynicki, and L. Szczerba: 1987, ‘A Note on Syntactical and Semantical Functions', Studia Logica 46, 177–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gajda, A.: 1988, ‘The Adequacy Condition as a Definition of Elementary Interpretation', Studia Logica 47, 57–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gödel: 1931, ‘Über formal unentscheidbare Sätze der Principia Mathematica und verwandter Systeme I', Monatshefte für Mathematik und Physik 38, 173–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hájek, P. and M. Hájkova: 1972, ‘On Interpretability in Theories Containing Arithmetic', Fundamenta Mathematicae 76, 131–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hájek, P. and P. Pudlák: 1993, Metamathematics of First-Order Arithmetic, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellman, G. and F. W. Thompson: 1975, ‘Physicalism: Ontology, Determination, and Reduction', Journal of Philosophy 72, 551–564.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooker, C.: 1981, ‘Towards a General Theory of Reduction', Dialogue XX, 1–3, 38–59, 201–236, 496–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jongh de, D. and F. Veltman: 1990, ‘Provability Logics for Relative Interpretability', in P. P. Petkov (ed.), Mathematical Logic, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 31–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye, R.: 1991, Models of Peano Arithmetic, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreisel, G.: 1968, ‘A Survey of Proof Theory', Journal of Symbolic Logic 33, 321–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreisel, G. and A. Levy: 1968, ‘Reflection Principles and Their Use for Establishing the Complexity of Axiomatic Systems', Zeitschrift für mathematische Logik und Grundlagen der Mathematik 14, 97–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunen, K.: 1980, Set Theory, North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström, P.: 1979, 'some Results on Interpretability', in Proceedings of the 5th Scandinavian Logic Symposium, 1979, Aalborg, pp. 329–361.

  • Lindström, P.: 1984a, ‘On Faithful Interpretability', in M. Richter et.al. (eds), '83, Springer, Berlin, pp. 279–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström, P.: 1984b, ‘On Certain Lattices of Degrees of Interpretability', Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 25, 127–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström, P.: 1997, Aspects of Incompleteness, Springer, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meseguer, J.: 1989, ‘General Logics', in H. D. Ebbinghaus et al. (eds), '87, Springer, Berlin, pp. 275–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, R.: 1962, ‘Theories Incomparable with Respect to Relative Interpretability', Journal of Symbolic Logic 27, 195–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, R.: 1965, ‘Interpretability in Terms ofModels', Indagationes Mathematicae 27, 467–476.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mycielski, J.: 1977, ‘A Lattice of Interpretability Types of Theories', Journal of Symbolic Logic 42, 297–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mycielski, J., P. Pudlák, and A. Stern: 1990, A Lattice of Chapters of Mathematics (Interpretations between Theorems), Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 84, No. 426, American Mathematical Society, Providence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orey, S.: 1961, ‘Relative Interpretations', Journal of Symbolic Logic 7, 146–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pour-El, M. B. and S. Kripke: 1967, ‘Deduction-Preserving “Recursive Isomorphisms” between Theories', Fundamenta Mathematicae 61, 141–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pudlák, P.: 1983, ‘Some Prime Elements in the Lattice of Interpretability Types', Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 280, 255–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pudlák, P.: 1985, ‘Cuts, Consistency Statements and Interpretability', Journal of Symbolic Logic 50, 423–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffner, K.: 1967, ‘Approaches to Reduction', Philosophy of Science 34, 137–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder-Heister, P. and F. Schaefer: 1989, ‘Reduction, Representation and Commensurability of Theories', Philosophy of Science 56, 130–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smory´nski, C.: 1985a, Self-Reference and Modal Logic, Springer, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smory´nski, C.: 1985b, ‘Nonstandard Models and Related Developments', in L. Harrington et al. (eds), Harvey Friedman's Research on the Foundations of Mathematics, North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solovay, R. M.: 1976, ‘Provability Interpretations of Modal Logic', Israel Journal of Mathematics 25, 287–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suppes, P.: 1957, Introduction to Logic, Princeton.

  • Szczerba, L.: 1977, ‘Interpretability of Elementary Theories', in R. Butts and J. Hintikka (eds), Logic, Foundations of Mathematics and Computing Theory, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 129–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szczerba, L.: 1980, ‘Interpretations with Parameters', Zeitschrift für Mathematische Logik und Grundlagen der Mathematik 26, 35–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarski, A., A. Mostowski, and R. M. Robinson: 1953, Undecidable Theories, North-Holland, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarski, A.: 1956, Logic, Semantics, Metamathematics, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser, A.: 1990, ‘Interpretability Logic', in P. P. Petkov (ed.), Mathematical Logic, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 175–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser, A.: 1997, ‘An Overview of Interpretability Logic', Preprint, University of Utrecht.

  • Zambella, D.: ‘On the Proofs of Arithmetical Completeness for Interpretability Logic', Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 33, 542–551.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Niebergall, KG. On The Logic Of Reducibility: Axioms And Examples. Erkenntnis 53, 27–61 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005692729370

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005692729370

Keywords

Navigation