Logic – How to Prove Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems Apply to ZFC

first-order-logicincompletenesslogicpredicate-logicset-theory

Let us denote Robinson Arithmetic as Q and Primitive Recursive Arithmetic as PRA. Let $T$ be a formal theory formulated in the language of arithmetic. According to this page on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the first incompleteness theorem applies to $T$ if $T$ contains Q, and the second incompleteness theorem applies if $T$ contains PRA. If $T$ is not formulated in the language of arithmetic, then the first and second incompleteness theorems hold for $T$ if we require that Q and PRA, respectively, can be interpreted in $T$. The Stanford page then goes on to say that

Roughly, a theory $T_1$ is interpretable in another theory $T_2$ if the primitive concepts and the range of the variables of $T_1$ are definable in $T_2$ so that it is possible to translate every theorem of $T_1$ into a theorem of $T_2.$

I am wondering what the precise definition is for $T_1$ to be interpretable in $T_2?$ Moreover, how would one go about showing that Q and PRA are interpretable in ZFC? Peter Smith's answer to a similar question clarifies that the conditions specified on the Stanford page leave out that $T$ must be effective (recursively axiomatizable). Smith goes on to say that

you show that you can interpret arithmetic in ZF(C), and — with the appropriate renditions — the axioms of Robinson Arithmetic are theorems of ZF(C), and so off you go again.

Once I have a precise definition for what it means for one theory to interpret another theory, my next question is, how do we prove that Q and PRA are interpretable in ZFC? If this would be an excessively long answer, then I would appreciate recommendations of relevant book titles.

When I was searching for ways to interpret an arithmetic theory in ZFC, I came across Henning Makholm's answer to this question. I see that, if $D$ is the domain of discourse, we can define the successor function $S:D\rightarrow D$ using the ZFC axioms as $S(x) = x\cup\{x\}.$ However, without the model of the von Neumann Universe, which defines an ordinal, how should we define addition and multiplication?

Best Answer

The notion of interpretability you want is called a relative interpretation of one first-order language $L_1$ in another first-order language $L_2$. I can't find a good online reference for this. The following is taken from memory from Mendelson's Introduction to Mathematical Logic.

For simplicity, let us assume $L_1$ has no function symbols. Then a relative interpretation comprises two things (1) a function mapping each $n$-place predicate symbol $p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$ of $L_1$ to a formula $\phi_p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$ of $L_2$ and (2) a formula $\delta(x)$ of $L_2$ (where all formulas have only the indicated variables free). You then map an arbitrary formula $\chi$ of $L_1$ to a formula $\chi^*$, say, of $L_2$ by replacing each instance of an $n$-place predicate $p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$ by the corresponding instance of $\phi_p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$, then replacing each formula of the form $\forall x.\chi$ by $\forall x. (\delta(x) \Rightarrow \chi)$ and finally replacing each formula of the form $\exists x.\chi$ by $\exists x.(\delta(x) \land \chi)$.

You can now define theory a $T_1$ over $L_1$ to be interpretable in a theory $T_2$ over $L_2$ if there exists a relative interpretation of $L_1$ in $L_2$ that maps theorems of $T_1$ to theorems of $T_2$. The idea is that in any model of $T_2$, $\delta(x)$ identifies the domain of discourse of $T_1$ and $\phi_p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$ defines the interpretation of each predicate symbol $p(x_1, \ldots, x_n)$ of $L_1$. If $T_1$ is interpretable in $T_2$, then $T_2$ can prove (the interpretation of) any sentence provable in $T_1$ (and maybe many more).

The mathematical details of a relative interpretation of $Q$ or $PRA$ in $ZF$ are then as suggested by Asaf Karagila's answer. First of all you have to reformulate the language of arithmetic using just predicates (so for example, you replace + by a three-place predicate $P(x, y, z)$ whose intended interpretation is $z = x + y$). Then you take $\delta(x)$ to be $x \in \omega$, and map the predicate symbols to appropriate formulas denoting the usual set-theoretic representations of the functions and predicates of the language of arithmetic (which can all be defined in terms of the successor operation $n \mapsto n \cup \{n\}$ using quantification over subsets of $\omega$, $\omega^2$ and $\omega^3$, see the answers to Why are addition and multiplication included in the signature of first-order Peano arithmetic? and How to define multiplication in addition terms in monadic second order logic? for details). (Here I am writing as if $\omega$ was a constant in the language of ZF, whereas ZF is usually set up to have only one non-logical symbol $\in$, so that $x \in \omega$ has to be read as shorthand for some complicated formula asserting that $x$ belongs to every set that contains the empty set and is closed under successor.)

Related Question