A generalization of the concept of ω-consistency

In this paper we consider certain formal properties of deductive systems which, in special cases, reduce to the property of ω-consistency; and we then seek to understand the significance of these properties by relating them to the use of models in providing interpretations of the deductive systems. The notion of ω-consistency arises in connection with deductive systems of arithmetic. For definiteness, let us suppose that the system is a functional calculus whose domain of individuals is construed as the set of natural numbers, and that the system possesses individual constants ν0, ν1, ν2, … such that νi functions as a name for the number i. Such a system is called ω-consistent, if there is no well-formed formula A(x) (in which x is the only free variable) such that A(ν0), A(ν1), A(ν2), … and ∼(x)A(x) are all formal theorems of the system, where A(νi) is the formula resulting from A(x) by substituting the constant νi for each free occurrence of the individual variable x. Now consider an arbitrary applied functional calculus F, and let Γ be any non-empty set of its individual constants. In imitation of the definition of ω-consistency, we may say that the system F is Γ-consistent, if it contains no formula A(x) (in which x is the only free variable) such that ⊦ A (α) for every constant α in Γ, and also ⊦ ∼(x)A(x) (where an occurrence of “⊦” indicates that the formula which it precedes is a formal theorem). We easily see that the condition of Γ-consistency is equivalent to the condition that the system F contain no formula B(x) such that ⊦ ∼ B(α) for each α in Γ, and also ⊦ (∃x)B(x).