Rigid First-Order Hybrid Logic

Abstract

Hybrid logic is usually viewed as a variant of modal logic in which it is possible to refer to worlds. But when one moves beyond propositional hybrid logic to first or higher-order hybrid logic, it becomes useful to view it as a systematic modal language of rigidification. The key point is this: @ can be used to rigidify not merely formulas, but other types of symbol as well. This idea was first explored in first-order hybrid logic (without function symbols) where @ was used to rigidify the first-order constants. It has since been used in hybrid type-theory: here one only has function symbols, but they are of every finite type, and @ can rigidify any of them. This paper fills the remaining gap: it introduces a first-order hybrid language which handles function symbols, and allows predicate symbols to be rigidified. The basic idea is straightforward, but there is a slight complication: transferring information about rigidity between the level of terms and formulas. We develop a syntax to deal with this, provide an axiomatization, and prove a strong completeness result for a varying domain (actualist) semantics.