An arithmetic interpretation of intuitionistic verification

Abstract

Abstract Intuitionistic epistemic logic introduces an epistemic operator to intuitionistic logic, which reflects the intended Brouwer–Heyting–Kolmogorov (BHK) semantics of intuitionism. The fundamental assumption concerning intuitionistic knowledge and belief is that it is the product of verification. The BHK interpretation of intuitionistic logic has a precise formulation in the logic of proofs and its arithmetical semantics. We show here that this interpretation can be extended to the notion of verification upon which intuitionistic knowledge is based, providing the systems of intuitionistic epistemic logic based on verification with an arithmetical semantics too. This confirms that the conception of verification incorporated in these systems reflects the BHK interpretation.