An internal semantics for modal logic

In Kripke semantics for modal logic, “possible worlds” and the possibility relation are both primitive notions. This has both technical and conceptual shortcomings. From a technical point of view, the mathematics associated with Kripke semantics is often quite complicated. From a conceptual point of view, it is not clear how to use Kripke structures to model knowledge and belief, where one wants a clearer understanding of the notions that are primitive in Kripke semantics. We introduce modal structures as models for modal logic. We use the idea of possible worlds, but by directly describing the “internal semantics” of each possible world. It is much easier to study the standard logical questions, such as completeness, decidability, and compactness, using modal structures. Furthermore, modal structures offer a much more intuitive approach to modelling knowledge and belief.

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