# Contents

## Idea

A first-order theory is a theory written in the language of first-order logic i.e it is a set of formulas or sequents (or generally, axioms over a signature) whose quantifiers and variables range over individuals of the underlying domain, but not over subsets of individuals nor over functions or relations of individuals etc. A first-order theory is called infinitary when the expressions contain infinite disjunctions or conjunctions, else it is called finitary.

Another name for a first-order theory is elementary theory which is found in the older literature but by now has gone extinct though it has left its traces in names like elementary topos, elementary embedding, ETCC etc.

The characterization of set-theoretic models of (finitary) first-order theories is the topic of traditional model theory.

## Examples

Formulations of set theory are usually first-order theories, such as

## Remark

In particular, the precise formulation of the former in first-order predicate logic by Skolem in 1922 provided the impetus for the strong hold that first-order predicate logic gained over mathematical logic in the following.

It is somewhat ironic that classical first-order logic owes its promotion to prominence to intuitionistic mathematicians like Weyl (1910,1918) and Skolem.

## References

• Carsten Butz, Peter Johnstone, Classifying toposes for first-order theories , APAL 91 (1998) pp.33-58.

• Peter Johnstone, Sketches of an Elephant II , Oxford UP 2002. (D1.3)

Revised on July 27, 2016 09:49:54 by Thomas Holder (176.4.124.239)