Can the negation of an unprovable true statement be added as an axiom

logicprovability

Let $S$ be some statement which is unprovable but true in an axiomatic system $T$. If $T$ is consistent, then adding $S$ as an axiom of $T$ keeps the system consistent. But what about adding $\neg S$ as an axiom?

For example, the continuum hypothesis is unprovable in ZFC, and we can add it or its negation as an axiom with no problem.

However, if the Goldbach conjecture is unprovable, it must be true, since if it were false we'd be able to find a counter-example, and check that it is a counter-example. Hence we wouldn't be able to add the negation of the Goldbach conjecture as an axiom if it is unprovable. Does this imply it is provable? Or is this okay?

Best Answer

Yes, you can add the negation of any unprovable statement as a new axiom to the theory and still get a consistent theory out of it.

(If the extended theory proved a contradiction, this would directly be a proof of the original "unprovable" statement, which therefore wouldn't be unprovable after all).

If the new axiom happens to be false in the interpretation of the theory you had in mind (such as the actual $\mathbb N$), this interpretation will not be a model any more, of course. The extended theory will have other models that are non-standard models of your original theory.