A modal logic of quantification and substitution

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the n-variable fragment of first order logic from a modal perspective. We define a modal formalism called cylindric mirror modal logic, and show how it is a modal version of first order logic with substitution. In this approach, we can define a semantics for the language which is closely related to algebraic logic, as we find Polyadic Equality Algebras as the modal or complex algebras of our system. The main contribution of the paper is a characterization of the intended 'mirror cubic' frames of the formalisms and, a consequence of the special form of this characterization, a completeness theorem for these intended frames. As a consequence, we find complete finite yet unorthodox derivation systems for the equational theory of finite-dimensional representable polyadic equality algebras.