S5 knowledge without partitions (Q2268777)

The author first introduces the notions of a set algebra with an operator (SAO, for short), a partitional SAO and an S5 knowledge-SAO. An SAO is a triplet \((\Omega, A,\text{K})\), where \(A\) is an algebra of subsets of a given set \(\Omega\) (the set of states) and K an operator (the knowledge operator), which is a function from \(A\) into \(A\). A partitional SAO is an SAO for which there exists a partition of \(\Omega\) fulfilling a certain condition linked to K. An S5 knowledge-SAO is an SAO that satisfies three relations mirroring conditions usually associated to the knowledge operator, viz.: the truth, conjunction and negative introspection conditions. The author points out that every partitional SAO is an S5 knowledge-SAO. Next, he proves that a certain condition is necessary and sufficient for an S5 knowledge-SAO to be partitional. From this, he shows that an S5 knowledge-SAO is partitional when the knowledge operator is defined on the power set or when the state space is finite. In addition, he constructs two examples of S5 knowledge-SAOs (one with a countable state space and another with an uncountable state space) that are not partitional. Finally, the author examines partition structures from the perspective of modal logics and concludes that modal logic S5 characterizes partition structures when the semantics is confined to frames or general frames. If the semantics is that of set algebras with an operator, no logic can characterize partition structures.