A Theory of a Two-Dimensional Typed Lambda Calculus

Abstract: We present a typed two-dimensional $λ$-calculus whose equality evidence is \emph{computational}: a path between two terms is an explicit finite sequence of one-step conversions (the $β$- and $η$-contractions, the congruences, and the structural rules), and every property of paths is proved \emph{by recursion over that sequence}, with any step as a base case --- in deliberate contrast with Martin-Löf type theory, where identity is generated by reflexivity alone and all properties go through the non-computational $J$-eliminator. The higher structure is imported from the $2β$- and $2η$-conversions of the theory of an arbitrary higher $λ$-model: we obtain 2-dimensional coherence laws, computable naturality of homotopies (via inductive homotopies and their explicit evaluations), a 2-dimensional path type with transport, and a parity invariant that proves the system consistent and \emph{really intensional}: the $β$- and $η$-contractions are provably distinct evidence, while in the native syntax of Idris (core MLTT) they are identified by definitional equality. Commutative diagrams accompany the main constructions, and the theory is fully formalized in Idris 2. A parallel Lean formalization is published in the Palomar registry \cite{palomar2026lean}. A philosophical reading closes the paper: constructivism in the BHK sense, proof-relevant intensionality, and the boundary between syntax and semantics, drawn relative to MLTT and HoTT.}