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One of these is the type of Variables appearing in Quantification s; in first-order logic, roughly speaking, it is forbidden to quantify over Predicate s. See Second-order Logic for systems in which this is permitted.

Another way in which higher-order logic differs from first-order logic is in the constructions allowed in the underlying Type Theory . A higher-order predicate is a Predicate that takes one or more other predicates as arguments. In general, a higher-order predicate of order ''n'' takes one or more (''n'' − 1)th-order predicates as arguments, where ''n'' > 1. A similar remark holds for '''higher-order functions.'''

Higher-order logics are more expressive, but their properties, in particular with respect to Model Theory , make them less Well-behaved for many applications. By a result of Gödel , classical higher-order logic does not admit a ( Recursively Axiomatized ) sound and Complete Proof Calculus ; however, such a proof calculus does exist which is sound and complete with respect to Henkin models.


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LITERATURE


  • Andrews, P.B. , ''An Introduction to Mathematical Logic and Type Theory: To Truth Through Proof'', 2nd edition, Academic Press, New York, NY, 2002.


  • Church, A. , "A Formulation of the Simple Theory of Types", ''Journal of Symbolic Logic'', vol. 5, 1940, pp. 56-68.


  • Henkin, L. , "Completeness in the Theory of Types", ''Journal of Symbolic Logic'', vol. 15, 1950, pp. 81-91.