Linear reasoning. A new form of the Herbrand-Gentzen theorem

Abstract

In Herbrand's Theorem [2] or Gentzen's Extended Hauptsatz [1], a certain relationship is asserted to hold between the structures of A and A′, whenever A implies A′ (i.e., A ⊃ A′ is valid) and moreover A is a conjunction and A′ an alternation of first-order formulas in prenex normal form. Unfortunately, the relationship is described in a roundabout way, by relating A and A′ to a quantifier-free tautology. One purpose of this paper is to provide a description which in certain respects is more direct. Roughly speaking, ascent to A ⊃ A′ from a quantifier-free level will be replaced by movement from A to A′ on the quantificational level. Each movement will be closely related to the ascent it replaces.The new description makes use of a set L of rules of inference, the L-rules. L is complete in the sense that, if A is a conjunction and A′ an alternation of first-order formulas in prenex normal form, and if A ⊃ A′ is valid, then A′ can be obtained from A by an L-deduction, i.e., by applications of L-rules only. The distinctive feature of L is that each L-rule possesses two characteristics which, especially in combination, are desirable. First, each L-rule yields only conclusions implied by the premisses.