. The variety (equational class) of lambda abstraction algebras was introduced to algebraize the untyped lambda calculus in the same way Boolean algebras algebraize the classical propositional calculus. The equational theory of lambda abstraction algebras is intended as an alternative to combinatory logic in this regard since it is a first-order algebraic description of lambda calculus, which allows to keep the lambda notation and hence all the functional intuitions. In this paper we show that the lattice of the subvarieties of lambda abstraction algebras is isomorphic to the lattice of lambda theories of the lambda calculus; for every variety of lambda abstraction algebras there exists exactly one lambda theory whose term algebra generates the variety. For example, the variety generated by the term algebra of the minimal lambda theory is the variety of all lambda abstraction algebras. This result is applied to obtain a generalization of the genericity lemma of finitary lambda calculus...

One of the benefits of formally represented knowledge lies in its potential to be shared. Ontologies have been proposed as the ultimate solution to problems in knowledge sharing. However even when an agreed correspondence between ontologies is reached that is not the end of the problems in knowledge sharing. In this paper we explore a number of realistic knowledge-sharing situations and their related problems for which ontologies fall short in providing a solution. For each situation we propose and analyse alternative solutions.

Abstract. In this article, we study the prehistory of type theory up to 1910 and its development between Russell and Whitehead’s Principia Mathematica ([71], 1910–1912) and Church’s simply typed λ-calculus of 1940. We first argue that the concept of types has always been present in mathematics, though nobody was incorporating them explicitly as such, before the end of the 19th century. Then we proceed by describing how the logical paradoxes entered the formal systems of Frege, Cantor and Peano concentrating on Frege’s Grundgesetze der Arithmetik for which Russell applied his famous paradox 1 and this led him to introduce the first theory of types, the Ramified Type Theory (rtt). We present rtt formally using the modern notation for type theory and we discuss how Ramsey, Hilbert and Ackermann removed the orders from rtt leading to the simple theory of types stt. We present stt and Church’s own simply typed λ-calculus (λ→C 2) and we finish by comparing rtt, stt and λ→C. §1. Introduction. Nowadays, type theory has many applications and is used in many different disciplines. Even within logic and mathematics, there are many different type systems. They serve several purposes, and are formulated in various ways. But, before 1903 when Russell first introduced

Functions play a central role in type theory, logic and computation. We describe how the notions of functionalisation (the way in which functions can be constructed) and instantiation (the process of applying a function to an argument) have been developed in the last century. We explain how both processes were implemented in Frege's Begriffschrift [17], Russell's Ramified Type Theory [42] and the lambda-calculus (originally introduced by Church [12, 13]) showing that the lambda-calculus misses a crucial aspect of functionalisation. We then pay attention to some special forms of function abstraction that do not exist in the lambda-calculus and we show that various logical constructs (e.g., let expressions and definitions and the use of parameters in mathematics), can be seen as forms of the missing part of functionalisation. Our study of the function concept leads...

Abstract not found