An intensional Schrödinger logic (Q1381433): Difference between revisions

Interest in nonstandard logic can arise from mathematical curiosity, or it can, these authors argue, arise from the necessities of science. They argue that modern physics teaches us that elementary particles can be indistinguishable but not identical, that we cannot suppose that one and the same particle is observed at different times. Our concepts of set individual and extension and intension must therefore all be revised. Schrödinger is quoted: It is not a question of our being able to ascertain the identity in some instances and not being able to do so in others. It is beyond doubt that the question of sameness of identity really and truly has no meaning. With this motivation in modern physics, the authors continue to develop earlier work on a two-sorted first-order logical system [where] the principle of identity is not valid in general\dots{} In this system there is one species for which the law of identity holds, and another where it does not. In previous papers this system was developed into a higher-order logic, and a classical semantics developed for this logic based on usual set theory. The purpose of the present paper is to use quasi-set theory as a more appropriate basis for the semantics, since it is argued, in this set theory the existence of indistinguishable but non-identical elements is allowed. The quasi-set theory of Dalla Chiara is the basis of this investigation. The fundamentals of this set theory along with the language and semantics of the Schrödinger logic are developed here sufficiently to present, as the main result, the outline of soundness and completeness theorems for the logic. These results are summarily but clearly presented. The paper ends with a discussion of how this work relates to the foundations of quantum mechanics, and points the way to future work. In particular the authors are concerned with how this analysis of intensional logic might be related back to more traditional considerations of quantum logic. It would be interesting to analyse the modifications to be made in the axioms and in the interpretations of what is to be considered a proposition such that the algebra be an orthomodular lattice as occurs in QM, instead of a Boolean algebra. Their ultimate aim is to show how these systems of intensional logic might also appear as legitimate quantum logics in some sense.