Intuitionistic logic, sometimes more generally called constructive logic, refers to systems of
symbolic logic that differ from the systems used for
classical logic by more closely mirroring the notion of
constructive proof. In particular, systems of intuitionistic logic do not assume the
law of the excluded middle and
double negation elimination, which are fundamental inference rules in classical logic.
Formalized intuitionistic logic was originally developed by
Arend Heyting to provide a formal basis for
L. E. J. Brouwer's programme of
intuitionism. From a
proof-theoretic perspective, Heyting’s calculus is a restriction of classical logic in which the law of excluded middle and double negation elimination have been removed. Excluded middle and double negation elimination can still be proved for some propositions on a case by case basis, however, but do not hold universally as they do with classical logic. The standard explanation of intuitionistic logic is the
BHK interpretation.
Several systems of semantics for intuitionistic logic have been studied. One of these semantics mirrors classical
Boolean-valued semantics but uses
Heyting algebras in place of
Boolean algebra
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas ...
s. Another semantics uses
Kripke models. These, however, are technical means for studying Heyting’s deductive system rather than formalizations of Brouwer’s original informal semantic intuitions. Semantical systems claiming to capture such intuitions, due to offering meaningful concepts of “constructive truth” (rather than merely validity or provability), are
Kurt Gödel’s
dialectica interpretation,
Stephen Cole Kleene’s
realizability, Yurii Medvedev’s logic of finite problems, or
Giorgi Japaridze’s
computability logic. Yet such semantics persistently induce logics properly stronger than Heyting’s logic. Some authors have argued that this might be an indication of inadequacy of Heyting’s calculus itself, deeming the latter incomplete as a constructive logic.
Mathematical constructivism
In the semantics of classical logic,
propositional formulae are assigned
truth values from the two-element set
("true" and "false" respectively), regardless of whether we have direct
evidence for either case. This is referred to as the 'law of excluded middle', because it excludes the possibility of any truth value besides 'true' or 'false'. In contrast, propositional formulae in intuitionistic logic are ''not'' assigned a definite truth value and are ''only'' considered "true" when we have direct evidence, hence ''proof''. (We can also say, instead of the propositional formula being "true" due to direct evidence, that it is
inhabited by a proof in the
Curry–Howard sense.) Operations in intuitionistic logic therefore preserve
justification
Justification may refer to:
* Justification (epistemology), a property of beliefs that a person has good reasons for holding
* Justification (jurisprudence), defence in a prosecution for a criminal offenses
* Justification (theology), God's act of ...
, with respect to evidence and provability, rather than truth-valuation.
Intuitionistic logic is a commonly-used tool in developing approaches to
constructivism in mathematics. The use of constructivist logics in general has been a controversial topic among mathematicians and philosophers (see, for example, the
Brouwer–Hilbert controversy). A common objection to their use is the above-cited lack of two central rules of classical logic, the law of excluded middle and double negation elimination. These are considered to be so important to the practice of mathematics that
David Hilbert wrote of them: "Taking the principle of excluded middle from the mathematician would be the same, say, as proscribing the telescope to the astronomer or to the boxer the use of his fists. To prohibit existence statements and the principle of excluded middle is tantamount to relinquishing the science of mathematics altogether."
Despite the serious challenges presented by the inability to utilize the valuable rules of excluded middle and double negation elimination, intuitionistic logic has practical use. One reason for this is that its restrictions produce proofs that have the
existence property, making it also suitable for other forms of
mathematical constructivism. Informally, this means that if there is a constructive proof that an object exists, that constructive proof may be used as an algorithm for generating an example of that object, a principle known as the
Curry–Howard correspondence between proofs and algorithms. One reason that this particular aspect of intuitionistic logic is so valuable is that it enables practitioners to utilize a wide range of computerized tools, known as
proof assistants. These tools assist their users in the verification (and generation) of large-scale proofs, whose size usually precludes the usual human-based checking that goes into publishing and reviewing a mathematical proof. As such, the use of proof assistants (such as
Agda or
Coq) is enabling modern mathematicians and logicians to develop and prove extremely complex systems, beyond those that are feasible to create and check solely by hand. One example of a proof that was impossible to satisfactorily verify without formal verification is the famous proof of the
four color theorem. This theorem stumped mathematicians for more than a hundred years, until a proof was developed that ruled out large classes of possible counterexamples, yet still left open enough possibilities that a computer program was needed to finish the proof. That proof was controversial for some time, but, later, it was verified using Coq.
Syntax

The
syntax of formulas of intuitionistic logic is similar to
propositional logic or
first-order logic
First-order logic—also known as predicate logic, quantificational logic, and first-order predicate calculus—is a collection of formal systems used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. First-order logic uses quanti ...
. However, intuitionistic
connectives are not definable in terms of each other in the same way as in
classical logic, hence their choice matters. In intuitionistic propositional logic (IPL) it is customary to use →, ∧, ∨, ⊥ as the basic connectives, treating ¬''A'' as an abbreviation for . In intuitionistic first-order logic both
quantifiers ∃, ∀ are needed.
Weaker than classical logic
Intuitionistic logic can be understood as a weakening of classical logic, meaning that it is more conservative in what it allows a reasoner to infer, while not permitting any new inferences that could not be made under classical logic. Each theorem of intuitionistic logic is a theorem in classical logic, but not conversely. Many
tautologies in classical logic are not theorems in intuitionistic logicin particular, as said above, one of intuitionistic logic's chief aims is to not affirm the law of the excluded middle so as to vitiate the use of non-constructive
proof by contradiction, which can be used to furnish existence claims without providing explicit examples of the objects that it proves exist. We say "not affirm" because while it is not necessarily true that the law is upheld in any context, no counterexample can be given: such a counterexample would be an inference (inferring the negation of the law for a certain proposition) disallowed under classical logic and thus is not allowed in a strict weakening like intuitionistic logic. Indeed, the double negation of the law is retained as a tautology of the system: that is, it is a theorem that
regardless of the proposition
. So the propositional calculus is always compatible with classical logic. The situation is more intricate for predicate logic formulas when quantified expressions are negated.
Sequent calculus
Gerhard Gentzen discovered that a simple restriction of his system LK (his sequent calculus for classical logic) results in a system that is sound and complete with respect to intuitionistic logic. He called this system LJ. In LK any number of formulas is allowed to appear on the conclusion side of a sequent; in contrast LJ allows at most one formula in this position.
Other derivatives of LK are limited to intuitionistic derivations but still allow multiple conclusions in a sequent. LJ' is one example.
Hilbert-style calculus
Intuitionistic logic can be defined using the following
Hilbert-style calculus. This is similar to
a way of axiomatizing classical propositional logic.
In propositional logic, the inference rule is
modus ponens
* MP: from
and
infer
and the axioms are
* THEN-1:
* THEN-2:
* AND-1:
* AND-2:
* AND-3:
* OR-1:
* OR-2:
* OR-3:
* FALSE:
To make this a system of first-order predicate logic, the
generalization rules
*
-GEN: from
infer
, if
is not free in
*
-GEN: from
infer
, if
is not free in
are added, along with the axioms
* PRED-1:
, if the term
is free for substitution for the variable
in
(i.e., if no occurrence of any variable in
becomes bound in
)
* PRED-2:
, with the same restriction as for PRED-1
Optional connectives
= Negation
=
If one wishes to include a connective
for negation rather than consider it an abbreviation for
, it is enough to add:
* NOT-1':
* NOT-2':
There are a number of alternatives available if one wishes to omit the connective
(false). For example, one may replace the three axioms FALSE, NOT-1', and NOT-2' with the two axioms
* NOT-1:
* NOT-2:
as at . Alternatives to NOT-1 are
or
.
= Equivalence
=
The connective
for equivalence may be treated as an abbreviation, with
standing for
. Alternatively, one may add the axioms
* IFF-1:
* IFF-2:
* IFF-3:
IFF-1 and IFF-2 can, if desired, be combined into a single axiom
using conjunction.
Relation to classical logic
The system of classical logic is obtained by adding any one of the following axioms:
*
(Law of the excluded middle. May also be formulated as
.)
*
(Double negation elimination)
*
(
Peirce's law
In logic, Peirce's law is named after the philosopher and logician Charles Sanders Peirce. It was taken as an axiom in his first axiomatisation of propositional logic. It can be thought of as the law of excluded middle written in a form tha ...
)
*
(Law of contraposition)
In general, one may take as the extra axiom any classical tautology that is not valid in the two-element
Kripke frame (in other words, that is not included in
Smetanich's logic).
Another relationship is given by the
Gödel–Gentzen negative translation, which provides an
embedding of classical first-order logic into intuitionistic logic: a first-order formula is provable in classical logic if and only if its Gödel–Gentzen translation is provable intuitionistically. Therefore, intuitionistic logic can instead be seen as a means of extending classical logic with constructive semantics.
In 1932,
Kurt Gödel defined a system of logics intermediate between classical and intuitionistic logic; Gödel logics are concomitantly known as
intermediate logics.
Admissible rules
In intuitionistic logic or a fixed theory using the logic, the situation can occur that an implication always hold metatheoretically, but not in the language. For example, in the pure propositional calculus, if
is provable, then so is
. Another example is that
being provable always also means that so is
. One says the system is closed under these implications as
rules and they may be adopted.
Non-interdefinability of operators
In classical propositional logic, it is possible to take one of
conjunction,
disjunction
In logic, disjunction is a logical connective typically notated as \lor and read aloud as "or". For instance, the English language sentence "it is raining or it is snowing" can be represented in logic using the disjunctive formula R \lor ...
, or
implication as primitive, and define the other two in terms of it together with
negation
In logic, negation, also called the logical complement, is an operation that takes a proposition P to another proposition "not P", written \neg P, \mathord P or \overline. It is interpreted intuitively as being true when P is false, and fals ...
, such as in
Łukasiewicz
Łukasiewicz is a Polish surname. It comes from the given name Łukasz (Lucas). It is found across Poland, particularly in central regions. It is related to the surnames Łukaszewicz and Lukashevich.
People
* Antoni Łukasiewicz (born 1983), ...
's
three axioms of propositional logic. It is even possible to define all four in terms of a
sole sufficient operator such as the
Peirce arrow (NOR) or
Sheffer stroke (NAND). Similarly, in classical first-order logic, one of the quantifiers can be defined in terms of the other and negation.
These are fundamentally consequences of the
law of bivalence, which makes all such connectives merely
Boolean functions.
The law of bivalence is not required to hold in intuitionistic logic, only the
law of non-contradiction. As a result, none of the basic connectives can be dispensed with, and the above axioms are all necessary. So most of the classical identities between connectives and quantifiers are only theorems of intuitionistic logic in one direction. Some of the theorems go in both directions, i.e. are equivalences, as subsequently discussed.
Below follows a list of implications involving negations. Combining the axioms THEN-1 and THEN-2 above,
follows, a conversion which can be used to obtain further implications.
Existential versus universal quantification:
*
*
And conversely,
*
*
There are finite variations of those with just two propositions.
Disjunction vs conjunction:
*
*
*
And conversely,
*
*
*
So negated statements are weak antecedents, and in turn not all of the classical
De Morgan's laws hold.
Going on,
Conjunction vs. implication:
*
*
And conversely,
*
*
The formulas for
can be used to imply
and one also validates the version with the positions of
and
switched. The latter are forms of the
disjunctive syllogism for negated propositions,
. A strenghtenend form still holds in intuitionistic logic, as follows.
Disjunction versus implication:
*
*
So, for example, intuitionistically "Either
or
" is a stronger propositional formula than "If not
, then
", whereas these are classically interchangeable. Such an implication for general
is not valid in
minimal logic.
Equivalences:
The above lists also contain equivalences.
Firstly, the equivalence involving a conjunction and a disjunction stems from
actually being stronger than
. Both sides of the equivalence can be understood as conjunctions of independent implications (of absurdity). In functional interpretations, it corresponds to
if-clause constructions.
So e.g. "Not (
or
)" is equivalent to "Not
, and also not
".
Secondly, the equivalence involving an implication and a conjunction corresponds to
currying. Due to the symmetry of the conjunction connective, it again implies
:
Special cases of this conversion make up the previous lists. The symmetry of the conjunction can also understood as reason for why negation of
can be moved between antecedent and consequent in the first two lists above.
The equivalences in the lists can be jointly generalized to the equivalence
:
which for
as
are two characterizations of
separation
Separation may refer to:
Films
* ''Separation'' (1967 film), a British feature film written by and starring Jane Arden and directed by Jack Bond
* ''La Séparation'', 1994 French film
* ''A Separation'', 2011 Iranian film
* ''Separation'' (20 ...
.
An equivalence itself is generally defined as, and then equivalent to, a conjunction of implications
*
With it, such connectives become in turn definable from it:
*
*
*
*
In turn,
and
are complete bases of intuitionistic connectives.
Functionally complete connectives:
As shown by Alexander V. Kuznetsov, either of the following connectives – the first one ternary, the second one quinary – is by itself
functionally complete: either one can serve the role of a sole sufficient operator for intuitionistic propositional logic, thus forming an analog of the
Sheffer stroke from classical propositional logic:
*
*
Semantics
The semantics are rather more complicated than for the classical case. A model theory can be given by Heyting algebras or, equivalently, by
Kripke semantics. Recently, a
Tarski-like model theory was proved complete by
Bob Constable, but with a different notion of completeness than classically.
Unproved statements in intuitionistic logic are not given an intermediate truth value (as is sometimes mistakenly asserted). One can prove that such statements have no third truth value, a result dating back to
Glivenko
Valery Ivanovich Glivenko (russian: Вале́рий Ива́нович Гливе́нко, uk, Валерій Іванович Гливенко; 2 January 1897 (Gregorian calendar) / 21 December 1896 (Julian calendar) in Kiev – 15 February ...
in 1928. Instead they remain of unknown truth value, until they are either proved or disproved. Statements are disproved by deducing a contradiction from them.
A consequence of this point of view is that intuitionistic logic has no interpretation as a two-valued logic, nor even as a finite-valued logic, in the familiar sense. Although intuitionistic logic retains the trivial propositions
from classical logic, each ''proof'' of a propositional formula is considered a valid propositional value, thus by
Heyting's notion of propositions-as-sets, propositional formulae are (potentially non-finite) sets of their proofs.
Heyting algebra semantics
In classical logic, we often discuss the
truth values that a formula can take. The values are usually chosen as the members of a
Boolean algebra
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas ...
. The
meet and join operations in the Boolean algebra are identified with the ∧ and ∨ logical connectives, so that the value of a formula of the form ''A'' ∧ ''B'' is the meet of the value of ''A'' and the value of ''B'' in the Boolean algebra. Then we have the useful theorem that a formula is a valid proposition of classical logic if and only if its value is 1 for every
valuation—that is, for any assignment of values to its variables.
A corresponding theorem is true for intuitionistic logic, but instead of assigning each formula a value from a Boolean algebra, one uses values from a
Heyting algebra, of which Boolean algebras are a special case. A formula is valid in intuitionistic logic if and only if it receives the value of the top element for any valuation on any Heyting algebra.
It can be shown that to recognize valid formulas, it is sufficient to consider a single Heyting algebra whose elements are the open subsets of the real line R.
In this algebra we have:
:
where int(''X'') is the
interior
Interior may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas
* ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck
* ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See
* Interior de ...
of ''X'' and ''X''
∁ its
complement.
The last identity concerning ''A'' → ''B'' allows us to calculate the value of ¬''A'':
:
With these assignments, intuitionistically valid formulas are precisely those that are assigned the value of the entire line.
For example, the formula ¬(''A'' ∧ ¬''A'') is valid, because no matter what set ''X'' is chosen as the value of the formula ''A'', the value of ¬(''A'' ∧ ¬''A'') can be shown to be the entire line:
:
So the valuation of this formula is true, and indeed the formula is valid. But the law of the excluded middle, ''A'' ∨ ¬''A'', can be shown to be ''invalid'' by using a specific value of the set of positive real numbers for ''A'':
:
The
interpretation
Interpretation may refer to:
Culture
* Aesthetic interpretation, an explanation of the meaning of a work of art
* Allegorical interpretation, an approach that assumes a text should not be interpreted literally
* Dramatic Interpretation, an event ...
of any intuitionistically valid formula in the infinite Heyting algebra described above results in the top element, representing true, as the valuation of the formula, regardless of what values from the algebra are assigned to the variables of the formula.
Conversely, for every invalid formula, there is an assignment of values to the variables that yields a valuation that differs from the top element.
No finite Heyting algebra has the second of these two properties.
Kripke semantics
Building upon his work on semantics of
modal logic,
Saul Kripke created another semantics for intuitionistic logic, known as Kripke semantics or relational semantics.
[Intuitionistic Logic]
Written b
Joan Moschovakis
Published in ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''.
Tarski-like semantics
It was discovered that Tarski-like semantics for intuitionistic logic were not possible to prove complete. However,
Robert Constable has shown that a weaker notion of completeness still holds for intuitionistic logic under a Tarski-like model. In this notion of completeness we are concerned not with all of the statements that are true of every model, but with the statements that are true ''in the same way'' in every model. That is, a single proof that the model judges a formula to be true must be valid for every model. In this case, there is not only a proof of completeness, but one that is valid according to intuitionistic logic.
Relation to other logics
Intuitionistic logic is related by
duality
Duality may refer to:
Mathematics
* Duality (mathematics), a mathematical concept
** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality
** Duality (optimization)
** Duality (order theory), a concept regarding binary relations
** Dual ...
to a
paraconsistent logic known as ''Brazilian'', ''anti-intuitionistic'' or ''dual-intuitionistic logic''.
The subsystem of intuitionistic logic with the FALSE axiom removed is known as
minimal logic.
Relation to many-valued logic
Kurt Gödel's work involving
many-valued logic showed in 1932 that intuitionistic logic is not a
finite-valued logic. (See the section titled
Heyting algebra semantics above for an
infinite-valued logic
In logic, an infinite-valued logic (or real-valued logic or infinitely-many-valued logic) is a many-valued logic in which truth values comprise a continuous or discrete variable, continuous range. Traditionally, in Aristotle's logic, logic other th ...
interpretation of intuitionistic logic.)
Relation to intermediate logics
Any finite Heyting algebra that is not equivalent to a Boolean algebra defines (semantically) an
intermediate logic. On the other hand, validity of formulae in pure intuitionistic logic is not tied to any individual Heyting algebra but relates to any and all Heyting algebras at the same time.
Relation to modal logic
Any formula of the intuitionistic propositional logic (IPC) may be translated into the
normal modal logic S4 as follows:
:
and it has been demonstrated
[Lévy, Michel (2011)]
''Logique modale propositionnelle S4 et logique intuitioniste propositionnelle''
pp. 4–5. that the translated formula is valid in the propositional modal logic S4 if and only if the original formula is valid in IPC. The above set of formulae are called the
Gödel–McKinsey–Tarski translation In logic, a modal companion of a superintuitionistic (intermediate) logic ''L'' is a normal modal logic that interprets ''L'' by a certain canonical translation, described below. Modal companions share various properties of the original intermedi ...
.
There is also an intuitionistic version of modal logic S4 called Constructive Modal Logic CS4.
[Natasha Alechina, Michael Mendler, Valeria de Paiva, and Eike Ritter]
''Categorical and Kripke Semantics for Constructive S4 Modal Logic''
/ref>
Lambda calculus
There is an extended Curry–Howard isomorphism between IPC and simply-typed lambda calculus
The simply typed lambda calculus (\lambda^\to), a form
of type theory, is a typed interpretation of the lambda calculus with only one type constructor (\to) that builds function types. It is the canonical and simplest example of a typed lambda ca ...
.
See also
* BHK interpretation
* Computability logic
* Constructive proof
* Curry–Howard correspondence
* Game semantics
* Inhabited set
* Intermediate logics In mathematical logic, a superintuitionistic logic is a propositional logic extending intuitionistic logic. Classical logic is the strongest consistent superintuitionistic logic; thus, consistent superintuitionistic logics are called intermedia ...
* Intuitionistic type theory
* Kripke semantics
* Linear logic
* Paraconsistent logic
* Relevance theory
* Smooth infinitesimal analysis
Smooth infinitesimal analysis is a modern reformulation of the calculus in terms of infinitesimals. Based on the ideas of F. W. Lawvere and employing the methods of category theory, it views all functions as being continuous and incapable of being ...
Notes
References
* van Dalen, Dirk, 2001, "Intuitionistic Logic", in Goble, Lou, ed., ''The Blackwell Guide to Philosophical Logic''. Blackwell
* Morten H. Sørensen, Paweł Urzyczyn, 2006, ''Lectures on the Curry-Howard Isomorphism'' (chapter 2: "Intuitionistic Logic"). Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics vol. 149, Elsevier
* W. A. Carnielli (with A. B. M. Brunner
"Anti-intuitionism and paraconsistency"
''Journal of Applied Logic Volume'' 3, Issue 1, Mar 2005, pp. 161–184
* Arend Heyting, 1930, "Die formalen Regeln der intuitionistischen Logik," in three parts, ''Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'': 42–71, 158–169.
External links
* '' Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'':
Intuitionistic Logic
by Joan Moschovakis
Intuitionistic Logic
by Nick Bezhanishvili and Dick de Jongh (from the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation at the University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other bein ...
)
Semantical Analysis of Intuitionistic Logic I
by Saul A. Kripke from ''Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., USA''
Intuitionistic Logic
by '' Dirk van Dalen''
The discovery of E. W. Beth's semantics for intuitionistic logic
by A. S. Troelstra and P. van Ulsen
Expressing Database Queries with Intuitionistic Logic
by Anthony J. Bonner. L. Thorne McCarty. Kumar Vadaparty. Rutgers University, Department of Computer Science
Tableaux'method for intuitionistic logic through S4-translation
tests the intuitionistic validity of propositional formulae; provided by the Laboratoire d'Informatique de Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
*
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
'
"Intuitionism in Mathematics"
by David Charles McCarty
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Logic in computer science
Non-classical logic
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Systems of formal logic
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