Generalized Quantifiers and Modalities

Abstract

We are going to study, from the logical point of view, expressions as “usually ϕ”, “ϕ is probable”, “for many x, ϕ” and similar. We shall handle them both as generalized quantifiers and as modalities. This should not look unnatural since in general modalities can be viewed as hidden quantifiers. We shall try to show how the theory of generalized quantifiers and modal logic can be applied to the above expressions (stressed by Zadeh as items of the specific agenda of fuzzy logic in the narrow sense) and that they admit “classical” logical analysis. We shall offer a logical apparatus, precise definitions, some results and various problems: here much study and development is still necessary. To be able to use and generalize the results and approaches of Boolean logic, we shall have to review and summarize several notions and facts on generalized quantifiers, some modal logics, and also on measures of uncertainty (that will be used to define various quantifiers and modalities). Thus we shall have two preliminary sections in this chapter: Section 1 on generalized quantifiers (with an appendix on uncertainty measures) and Section 2 on modal logics, both sections in the frame of Boolean (two-valued) logic. Generalized quantifiers in fuzzy logic and fuzzy modal logics are studied in Sections 3, 4.