Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-logic-and-set-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/4/c/solution
Past exam of the logic and set theory course of the University of Oxford 2008 A 4 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
In the presence of equality, two syntactically different closed terms can be asserted equal by the Henkin theory, so the raw first-order term domain from part (b) must be replaced by a quotient set. DefineThe equality axioms give reflexivity, symmetry and transitivity, so this is an equivalence relation. Their substitution consequences make it a congruence relation on a first-order structure: replacing an input by an equivalent first-order term preserves equivalence of function values and preserves membership of atomic formulas in .
Take domain . Define a function symbol by , and relations by the same membership test as before using representatives. The congruence relation on a first-order structure makes these definitions independent of representatives. Actual identity of equivalence classes now agrees with the formal equality first-order sentences in :This supplies the equality case of the truth lemma for a Henkin term model; the logical connective and quantifier cases then proceed exactly as in the Henkin construction. Thus the term model built from the quotient set is a genuine first-order model with equality interpreted as identity.
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