Some remarks concerning theories with recursively enumerable complements

Abstract

A system formalized within the first order predicate calculus either with or without the identity but without predicate or function variables we call simply a theory. We say that a theory T has a recursively enumerable complement (r.e. Comp.) if the set of all sentences of T not valid in T is recursively enumerable. This is equivalent to saying that there exists an effective, purely mechanical procedure for establishing the non-validity in T of precisely those sentences of T which are in fact not theorems of T. If in addition T is recursively enumerable, that is, if there is an effective procedure for establishing the validity in T of its theorems, then T is decidable. It will be shown here that several well-known results concerning decidable theories can be extended to cover theories with r.e. comps. In this respect it should be observed that there exist theories having r.e. comps. which are not decidable. An example is the theory which has as valid sentences just those which contain a given two-place predicate and which are valid in all non-void finite universes [3], [4].