Philosophy of Mathematics seminar

Hanoch Ben-Yami, Central European University

The Quantified Argument Calculus: Introduction, Overview, and Future Directions 

The Quantified Argument Calculus, or Quarc, is a powerful formal logic system, first introduced in Ben-Yami’s “The Quantified Argument Calculus” (RSL 2014), based on work published over the preceding decade. It is closer in syntax to Natural Language than is the Predicate Calculus, sheds light on the logical role of some of Natural Language’s features which it incorporates (such as copular structure, converse relation terms and anaphora), and is also closer to Natural Language in the logical relations it validates. The system has recently been extended and applied by several authors ((Lanzet, RSL 2017), (Raab, HPL 2018), (Pavlovic & Gratzl, RSL 2019)) and additional research is currently pursued.

In my talk I’ll introduce Quarc and describe the research carried out so far and directions for future research. I’ll explain how Quarc sheds light on the nature of quantification in the Predicate Calculus and (time permitting) on issues surrounding necessary existence.