This paper aims at bringing together two debates in metaphysics that so far have been kept separate: the debate about determinism vs. indeterminism as de re modality on the one hand, and the debate about persistence on the other hand. Both debates significantly involve talk of things. We will show that working out a proper semantics for singular terms and an accompanying theory of things, motivated by considerations of quantified modal logic, can significantly further the persistence debate. We will use (...) our semantic framework to give an argument in support of the endurantist position as the best theory of persistence. (shrink)

This book provides a detailed exposition of one of the most practical and popular methods of proving theorems in logic, called Natural Deduction. It is presented both historically and systematically. Also some combinations with other known proof methods are explored. The initial part of the book deals with Classical Logic, whereas the rest is concerned with systems for several forms of Modal Logics, one of the most important branches of modern logic, which has wide applicability.

We present the design goals and metatheory of the Monadic Hybrid Calculus, a new formal system that has the same power as the Monadic Predicate Calculus. MHC allows quantification, including relative quantification, in a straightforward way without the use of bound variables, using a simple adaptation of modal logic notation. Thus “all Greeks are mortal” can be written as [G]M. MHC is also ‘hybrid’ in that it has individual constants, which allow us to formulate statements about particular individuals. Thus “Socrates (...) is Athenian and mortal” can be formalised as s.For our proof system, we use a simple adaptation of Beth-style tableaus. The availability of individual constants eliminates the need for labelled deduction.We discuss first the pragmatic and pedagogical advantages of MHC. Then we present the metatheory: formal syntax, semantics, proof rules, soundness, completeness and expressive equivalence with the Monadic Predicate Calculus. (shrink)