Influences of Frege’s Predicate Logic on Some Computational Models
Influences of Frege’s Predicate Logic on Some Computational Models

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to give some insights into the immense role of Frege’s first order logic (FOL) in the development of computer science. We argue that the FOL is fundamental in computer science, and that some computer science subfields could not have existed without their theoretical foundations built on this form of logic. Among these subfields, one can mention the Type Theory, Databases, Descriptive Complexity, Artificial Intelligence, Logic Programming, and Automated Theorem Proving. To illustrate our point, an in-depth attention will in particular be given to the foundational development of the most popular logic programming language, PROLOG, and the Automated Theorem Proving (ATP) systems. Importantly, when studying the interactions between logic and computer science in the literature, we can observe a significant gap in the provision of the appropriate abstraction level. Specifically, we often encounter two different levels of abstraction. The first of these is relatively high even when describing technical notions in computer science, which obviously produces a lack of precision. The second adopts a technical-oriented approach which easily makes the topic and discussion unintuitive or inaccessible to the non-specialist. The paper attempts to remedy these problems by adopting a balanced approach that provides a moderate level of abstraction that targets a deeper understanding of the topic without imposing a very technical presentation on the reader

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