Truth as translation. Part A (Q5947377)

Leitgeb studies propositional languages with algebraic semantics and translations of these languages into each another. The sentences of the language receive elements of a Boolean algebra as values and the connectives correspond in the usual way to the operations on the elements of the Boolean algebra, that is, implication corresponds to the partial oder of the Boolean algebra, negation to complement, conjunction to infimum etc. Translations are mappings between languages corresponding to Boolean homomorphisms (plus some additional condition) on the semantical side. In a second step, the notion of translation itself is then represented in the language itself. A truth predicate Tr is adjoined to the algebraically interpreted language \(L_2\) and the author asks whether for a suitable translation function and for any sentence \(\varphi\) of \(L_1\), \(\text{Tr}(t)\) is equivalent to the translation of \(\varphi\), where \(t\) designates \(\varphi\). Leitgeb considers the special case where \(L_1=L_2\). \(L_{\text{True}}\) designates \(L_1\) expanded by the truth predicate. According to the main result of the paper, one can expand any given Boolean algebra interpreting \(L_1\) in such a way that there is a translation of \(L_{\text{True}}\) in \(L_{\text{True}}\) and the condition on the truth predicate is met. In the presence of a liar sentence, however, the translation cannot be homomorphic, i.e., the translation cannot map every sentence to itself. Leitgeb presents also an alternative approach: If the Boolean algebra is a set algebra, i.e., if the Boolean algebra has subsets of a given set \(W\) as elements, then the members of \(W\) can be viewed as possible worlds. The author defines the notion of translation etc.\ also in terms of his possible worlds approach. Leitgeb shows that the (translation) homomorphisms and the accessibility relation on the possible worlds approach correspond to each other. The second part [ibid. 30, No. 4, 309-328 (2001; Zbl 0983.03004)] is reviewed below.