Weakening ($\Gamma ⊢A⟹\Gamma ,\Delta ⊢A$)

Adding unused assumptions to the context of a logical derivation. The original derivation still proves the same conclusion because it need not use every available assumption. When eigenvariables are used, rename them first if necessary to preserve the eigenvariable condition for any newly added assumptions. This explains how disjunction elimination with different branch contexts can be written using a common context containing all their assumptions.

Thinning enlarges the assumptions without changing a conclusion. In a predicate-calculus presentation with context-sensitive generalization, a generalization valid before adding an unused assumption may not be replayable with that assumption open. An explicit weakening step nevertheless imports the already proved conclusion. In propositional calculus with only axiom schemes and modus ponens, weakening is admissible by replaying the proof. The need for a separately stated rule depends on how proof dependencies are represented.