Formal systems

A formal system or logical calculus is any well-defined system of abstract thought based on the model of mathematics. A formal system need not be mathematical as such; for example, Spinoza's Ethics imitates the form of Euclid's Elements.. Spinoza employed Euclidiean elements such as "axioms" or "primitive truths", rules of inferences etc. so that a calculus can be built using these. For nature of such primitive truths, one can consult Tarski's "Concept of truth for a formalized language".

Some theorists use the term formalism as a rough synonym for formal system, but the term is also used to refer to a particular style of notation, for example, Paul Dirac's bra–ket notation.

Each formal system uses a set of primitive symbols (sometimes known as an alphabet) to finitely construct a formal language from a set of axioms through inferential rules of formation.

The system thus consists of valid formulas built up through finite combinations of the primitive symbols—combinations that are formed from the axioms in accordance with the stated rules.

More formally, this can be expressed as the following:

A formal system is said to be recursive (i.e. effective) or recursively enumerable if the set of axioms and the set of inference rules are decidable sets or semidecidable sets, respectively.

The entailment of the system by its logical foundation is what distinguishes a formal system from others which may have some basis in an abstract model. Often the formal system will be the basis for or even identified with a larger theory or field (e.g. Euclidean geometry) consistent with the usage in modern mathematics such as model theory.

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