0

Working through a book An introduction to proof theory - normalization, cut-elimination and consistency proofs, I started comparing natural deduction and Hilbert-style systems. I had some basic knowledge of the following Hilbert-style system from before:

$$(A \rightarrow (B \rightarrow A)) \quad \textbf{(A1)}$$ $$((A \rightarrow (B \rightarrow C)) \rightarrow ((A \rightarrow B) \rightarrow (A \rightarrow C))) \quad \textbf{(A2)}$$ $$((\neg A \rightarrow \neg B)\rightarrow(B \rightarrow A )) \quad \textbf{(A3)}$$

These together with modus ponens ($A$ and $A \rightarrow B \vdash B$).

Still being in the Hilbert-style system, thereupon we define the biconditional:

$$(((A \leftrightarrow B) \rightarrow \neg ((A \rightarrow B)\rightarrow \neg (B \rightarrow A)))\rightarrow \neg ( \neg((A \rightarrow B) \rightarrow \neg(B \rightarrow A))\rightarrow (A \leftrightarrow B)))$$ (This definition is difficult to comprehend, but it behaves just as you would expect.) Then we define True and False. They are both well-formed formulas syntactically.

$$(\top \leftrightarrow (A \rightarrow A))$$ $$(\bot \leftrightarrow \neg \top)$$

This is a classical system (not intuitionistic or minimal). There is a corresponding classical natural deduction system with its own introduction and elimination rules, such as conjunction elimination (R), modus ponens, disjunction elimination, ex falso and of course also our negation elimination.

It is my understanding that the same theorems are provable in classical natural deduction and classical Hilbert-style system. But does this apply also to the natural deduction rules themselves or are they exempt? I found many proofs of these ND rules from axioms in Metamath and its proof explorer, including some form of the negation elimination rule however, it is not quite the same as the original ND rule.

ND rule - negation elimination (Rule 1): $$A \text{ and } \neg A \vdash \bot$$

Metamath's negation elimination theorem from axioms (Rule 2): $$A \rightarrow B \text{ and } A \rightarrow \neg B \vdash A \rightarrow \bot$$

I don't think we can use the deduction theorem here as first-order logic can't prove metatheorems. But is there a way of proving Rule 1 (ND's negation elimination) directly from axioms (and any theorems we have to prove beforehand), or is this not possible and there exists a discrepancy between ND and Hilbert-style axioms? Rule 2 just adds another layer of reasoning before you can get to the desired result. If a mechanism exists for such a proof it could be used widely for any sort of similar construction where you have to remove the antecedent.

Edit: After fixing the mistake in the title, this question is about negation elimination, which is not the same as $\phi \Rightarrow \neg \neg \phi$. It is also about the possibility of translating every natural deduction rule to a Hilbert-style theorem and how exactly one type should be translated to another.

Primož
  • 322
  • 1
    There is no '⊥' in the three-axiom system you mentioned above. Thus, it can't prove either Rule 1 or Rule 2. Similarly, there exist hilbert style axiomatic systems with theorems that some natural deduction systems can't prove, since '⊥' exists in some Hilbert systems, but not in some natural deduction systems. – Doug Spoonwood Jul 31 '22 at 15:59
  • @DougSpoonwood Thank you for noticing this. I have added the necessary changes in an edit. The source I am studying from (Metamath proof explorer) is pretty reliable, so I think it should work like this. Is Rule 1 now provable from the axioms? – Primož Jul 31 '22 at 16:58
  • Isn't the rule of inference {A, $\lnot$ A} $\vdash$ B derivable? – Doug Spoonwood Aug 01 '22 at 08:35
  • @DougSpoonwood It should be derivable in natural deduction. However, I have found a proof of $\bot \rightarrow A$ from the axioms, which is a step forward in deriving ${A, \neg A} \vdash B$ from axioms. But this leads to the derivation ${A \rightarrow B, A \rightarrow \neg B} \vdash A \rightarrow C$. Again, same problem. We have an antecedent at the front. I don't see how we could make the transition to the ${A, \neg A} \vdash B$. If it's possible, any ideas, tips as to how to go about such a proof? If it's impossible, how would one know to give up? – Primož Aug 01 '22 at 09:17
  • From A1 and A3 we can get (¬B→((¬A→¬B)→(B→A))). If we distribute that using A2 we have (¬B→(¬A→¬B)) as the antecedent which is just an instance of A1. So, we can infer the consequent. Can you write what the consequent is? – Doug Spoonwood Aug 02 '22 at 04:54
  • Definitions also aren't usually done by a logical equivalence operator like "↔". But, if we use some other way to make definitions, I don't think it affects things, if we allow for ⊥ and ⊤ as definable in the way you've defined them. That said, I don't think I would accept those definitions myself. ⊤ and ⊥ aren't abbreviations for particular well-formed formulas usually, but I've ignored that concern in the above. – Doug Spoonwood Aug 02 '22 at 04:58
  • 1
    @DougSpoonwood The consequent is $\neg B \rightarrow (B \rightarrow A)$! And from modus ponens and one of the theorems you wrote, we can get that as a standalone theorem. Upon looking this one up, I also found the ${A, \neg A } \vdash B$ directly from axioms. Now we can replace the $B$ with $\bot$ which is what I had been looking for. Thank you for helping me! Regarding definitions, they are outside of the scope of this question, but I will give it some thought. – Primož Aug 02 '22 at 06:40
  • Yes of course; the proof system above is sound and complete for Classical Logic; thus, it proves every tautology. Of course, you have to agree on what formula corresponds to Negation Elimination; maybe $\lnot \lnot A \to A$. The rule $A→B, A→¬B⊢¬A$ looks like Negation Introduction. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Aug 22 '22 at 12:15
  • @MauroALLEGRANZA Thank you for noticing this error. I messed up my theorem names. I have fixed it in an edit for future readers. – Primož Aug 23 '22 at 08:39
  • @TankutBeygu When I asked this I was young and naive, and reviewing the question I learned I named negation elimination as negation introduction. The original question was named correctly, however I edited it after a comment confused me. Now it's back to normal. It is not the same as your suggestion, and after fixing the mistake, I think it is ok. Thank you for pointing everything out. – Primož May 01 '25 at 21:24

0 Answers0