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Inverse View
It is not the case that The Axiom of Choice is innocent in the context of second-order logic and is generally accepted in the second-order logic literature.
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Reasons For
2 perspectives
Reason for 1 of 2
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1.
Second-order logic's quantification over all subsets is a semantic stipulation, not an ontological guarantee that choice functions exist.
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2.
The Axiom of Choice asserts the existence of a specific function, which requires more than mere acknowledgment that subsets can be quantified over.
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3.
Boolos and others have shown that the 'full' second-order semantics presupposes a background set theory that itself requires AC, making the 'innocence' claim circular.
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Reason for 2 of 2
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1.
Constructivist and predicativist traditions (Weyl, Feferman) reject impredicative quantification over all subsets as ontologically illegitimate.
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2.
If second-order quantification is restricted to predicatively definable properties, as Feferman's program demands, AC is not automatically licensed.
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Reasons Against
1 perspective
Reason against
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1.
The basic tenet of second-order logic is that all properties of elements of a fixed domain exist and can be quantified over.
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2.
In set-theoretical terms, all subsets—definable or not—of a set of any cardinality exist and can be quantified over.
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3.
Quantifying over all subsets naturally licenses the Axiom of Choice for families of subsets of any cardinality.
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