Fibered Universal Algebra for First-order Logics

Abstract

We extend Lawvere-Pitts prop-categories (aka. hyperdoctrines) to develop a general framework for providing "algebraic'' semantics for nonclassical first-order logics. This framework includes a natural notion of substitution, which allows first-order logics to be considered as structural closure operators just as propositional logics are in abstract algebraic logic. We then establish an extension of the homomorphism theorem from universal algebra for generalized prop-categories and characterize two natural closure operators on the prop-categorical semantics. The first closes a class of structures (which are interpreted as morphisms of prop-categories) under the satisfaction of their common first-order theory and the second closes a class of prop-categories under their associated first-order consequence. It turns out, these closure operators have characterizations that closely mirror Birkhoff's characterization of the closure of a class of algebras under the satisfaction of their common equational theory and Blok and Jónsson's characterization of closure under equational consequence, respectively. These "algebraic'' characterizations of the first-order closure operators are unique to the prop-categorical semantics. They do not have analogs, for example, in the Tarskian semantics for classical first-order logic. The prop-categories we consider are much more general than traditional intuitionistic prop-categories or triposes (i.e., topos representing indexed partially ordered sets). Nonetheless, to our knowledge, our results are still new, even when restricted to these special classes of prop-categories.