Modal Logic (Oxford Logic Guides)

For a novice this book is a mathematically-oriented introduction to modal logic, the discipline within mathematical logic studying mathematical models of reasoning which involve various kinds of modal operators - `like it is necessary' in philosophy, `it is believed' in cognitive science, `it is provable' in mathematics and `it is true after executing a program' in computer science. It is an advanced text which starts with very fundamental concepts and gradually proceeds to the front line of current research, introducing in full details the modern semantical and algebraic apparatus and covering practically all classical results in the field. It contains both numerous exercises and open problems, and presupposes only minimal knowledge in mathematics. A specialist can use the book as a source of references. For the first time results and methods of many directions in propositional modal logic - from completeness and duality to algorithmic problems - are collected and systematically presented in one volume. Unlike other books, modal logic is treated here as a uniform theory rather than a collection of a few particular systems. It is the only book presenting the theory of superintuitionistic logics.