Elementary Logic in Linear Space (2001.11186v1)

Abstract: First-order logic is typically presented as the study of deduction in a setting with elementary quantification. In this paper, we take another vantage point and conceptualize first-order logic as a linear space that encodes "plausibility". Whereas a deductive perspective emphasizes how (i.e., process), a space perspective emphasizes where (i.e., location). We explore several consequences that a shift in perspective to "signals in space" has for first-order logic, including (1) a notion of proof based on orthogonal decomposition, (2) a method for assigning probabilities to sentences that reflects logical uncertainty, and (3) a "models as boundary" principle that relates the models of a theory to its "size".