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$\newcommand\ZFC{\mathrm{ZFC}}\DeclareMathOperator\Con{Con}$It is often interesting to look at the theory of all first-order statements that are true in some second-order theory, giving us things like the theory of real-closed fields, the first-order theory of the naturals, etc, which have very interesting models.

In principle, we ought to be able to do something similar with the "first-order theory of the second-order theory of $\ZFC_2$." Of course, there are all kinds of snags doing this that one does not run into with real-closed fields. Still, I'm curious if anything interesting can be said about this theory at all.

Intuitively, models of this theory ought to all have some kind of internal symmetry or structure that models of $\ZFC_1$ wouldn't necessarily have, similarly to models of true arithmetic vs first-order PA. We can formalize this intuition perhaps by just asking how strong this "first-order second-order" theory is:

  • Is it stronger than $\ZFC_1$ + "there exists a model of $\ZFC_1$"?
  • Is it weaker than $\ZFC_1$ plus an inaccessible cardinal?
  • Are there any interesting statements (e.g. beyond just $\Con(\ZFC_1)$) that this theory clearly determines at all, which are independent of ones background assumptions for second-order logic?
    • For instance, is $V\ne L$ guaranteed in this theory?

In general are there any good references for this kind of thing?

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    $\begingroup$ The first order theory you are asking for seems to be none other than Kelley-Morse theory of classes. It is much stronger than "ZFC + ZFC has a model", but weaker than "ZFC + there is an inaccessible". It does not prove V = L. $\endgroup$
    – Ali Enayat
    Commented Apr 20 at 19:47
  • $\begingroup$ I don't see how these could be the same, sadly. The theory I'm talking about isn't even recursively axiomatizable. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 20 at 20:27
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    $\begingroup$ Could you please provide a more precise description of the theory you have in mind? $\endgroup$
    – Ali Enayat
    Commented Apr 20 at 20:40
  • $\begingroup$ @AliEnayat The OP's description is "all first-order statements that are true in some second-order theory;" they're looking for the set of first-order consequences of ZFC$_2$. Of course this includes e.g. $CH$ iff $CH$ is actually true, etc. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 20 at 20:44
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    $\begingroup$ In model theory, given a class $\mathcal{C}$ of $\mathcal{L}$-structures (where $\mathcal{L}$ is a fixed langauge) , the theory of $\mathcal{C}$ is defined as the set of $\mathcal{L}$-sentences that holds in every structure in $\mathcal{C}$. In this light, if you agree with the answer given by Hamkins to your question, then the title of your question can be modified to "The (first order) theory of the class of models of (full) second order ZF". $\endgroup$
    – Ali Enayat
    Commented Apr 21 at 10:27

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I understand your theory to be the set of all sentences in the first-order language of set theory that are true in every model of $\newcommand{\ZFC}{\text{ZFC}}\ZFC_2$. This is a perfectly sensible notion that we can define even when working in $\ZFC$, which provides its notion of how to interpret the second-order theory $\ZFC_2$.

Namely, Zermelo famously proved that the models of $\ZFC_2$ are precisely those isomorphic to the transitive sets of the form $V_\kappa$, where $\kappa$ is an inaccessible cardinal. The nature of $\ZFC_2$, therefore, depends on whether there are any inaccessible cardinals and indeed how many there are. For example, if there is only one inaccessible cardinal, then $\ZFC_2$ is a categorical theory, but not otherwise, and Zermelo's result is often described as a quasi-categoricity result, since it shows that for any two models of $\ZFC_2$, one of them is an isomorphic to an initial segment of the other.

So your theory is simply $$T=\bigcap\left\{\ \strut\text{Th}(\langle V_\kappa,{\in}\rangle) \mid \kappa\text{ is inaccessible }\right\}.$$

The exact nature of this theory will depend, however, on whether there are any inaccessible cardinals or indeed how many there are, as well as on other set-theoretic assertions in the context in which we define the theory.

  • If there are no inaccessible cardinals, for example, then $\ZFC_2$ has no models and so your theory has all sentences in it, an inconsistent theory. So it is possible that your theory is Very Strong.

  • If there is an inaccessible cardinal, then your theory includes all the arithmetic consequences of an inaccessible cardinal, which includes $\newcommand{\Con}{\text{Con}}\Con(\ZFC)$ and $\Con(\ZFC+\Con(\ZFC))$ and so forth, iterated many times. So the answer to question 1 is yes.

  • If there is an inaccessible cardinal, then your theory does not include the statement "there is an inaccessible cardinal", since indeed this statement is not true in $V_\kappa$ when $\kappa$ is the least inaccessible.

  • If there is exactly one inaccessible cardinal, then your theory is the complete theory of $V_\kappa$ for this unique inaccessible cardinal $\kappa$. (This could be seen as an analogue of what you had mentioned with the reals, where we got a complete theory, the theory of real-closed fields.)

  • If there is more than one inaccessible cardinal, then your theory is not complete, forming only part of the theory of $V_\kappa$ where $\kappa$ is the least inaccessible. For example, the assertion "there is an inaccessible cardinal" will be independent of your theory, since it is true in some $V_\kappa$ but not all. (Although the theory is not complete, the extra inaccessible cardinals have strong consequences down low, such as additional consistency assertions, which will be a part of $T$.)

  • If there are infinitely many inaccessible cardinals, then the assertion "there are $n$ inaccessible cardinals" is independent of your theory, since it is true in some $V_\kappa$ and false in others.

  • Similarly with "there are $\alpha$ many inaccessible cardinals", if there are more than $\alpha$ many inaccessible cardinals.

  • The theory $\ZFC+$ there is an inaccessible cardinal proves the consistency of your theory, since your theory is true in $V_\kappa$ for any inaccessible cardinal $\kappa$.

  • If V=L holds, then this will be part of your theory, since all the $V_\kappa$ for $\kappa$ inaccessible will think that it is true.

  • Similarly, as Noah mentions in the comments, if CH is true, then it is part of your theory, and similarly with $\neg$CH, or $\Diamond$, or SH, or MA, and so forth.

There is sometimes a confusion that arises when considering a second-order theory such as $\ZFC_2$. If we work as usual in the background theory of (first-order) $\ZFC$, then as I mentioned we can interpret the second-order theory of $\ZFC_2$ as it is defined in set theory. In this process, one views Zermelo's theorem, for example, as a theorem of $\ZFC$.

But sometimes people have the idea that there is a "true" second-order logic, not merely the semantics as it is defined in first-order set theory, and this is not the same, since for example we can have nonstandard models of $\ZFC$, and they would provide only an internal meaning of $\ZFC_2$, which would not accord with the "true" second-order semantics. The question whether there is such a meaningful semantics amounts to staking a claim for monism in the raging debate on pluralism in the philosophy of set theory.

You might be interested in the interplay of your theory with the analysis that Robin Solberg and I provide in our paper on categorical cardinals, which involves a similar take on looking at the first and second-order theories of $V_\kappa$ for $\kappa$ inaccessible. The paper is:

Meanwhile, let me conclude with the following scheme.

Theorem. If Ord is definably Mahlo (every definable class club contains an inaccessible cardinal) and $\sigma$ is true, then $\neg\sigma\notin T$.

This can be formalized as a scheme, and there is a level-by-level version where we assume only suitable $\Sigma_n$-Mahloness, above the complexity of $\sigma$.

Proof. If Ord is definably Mahlo and $\sigma$ holds, then by reflection $\sigma$ holds on a definable class club and therefore in some inaccessible $V_\kappa$. So $\neg\sigma$ is not in $T$. $\Box$

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  • $\begingroup$ Sorry for the large number of edits. I think it is converging. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 20 at 23:16
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you @JoelDavidHamkins, though I'm not certain we are talking about the same thing! Yes, I'm talking about the set of all first-order sentences that are true in every model of $ZFC_2$. Shouldn't there be only countably many of these, and since this is a countable first order theory, wouldn't the Löwenheim-Skolem theorem say that we have models of all cardinalities - including countable models? For instance, the second-order theory of $\Bbb R$ is categorical, but there are many real-closed fields of all cardinalities. I was imagining something similar here. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 20 at 23:59
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    $\begingroup$ Yes, that is the idea. If you just iterate the consistency operator $\omega$ many steps, it is strictly weaker than having a model of $\text{ZFC}_2$, which is equivalent to the existence of an inaccessible cardinal. Regarding your final question, I am afraid it isn't necessarily sensible to ask about equiconsistency with "the first-order theory of second-order ZFC", since you don't actually have an axiomatization of your theory. The main point of my answer is that even very basic features of your theory depend strongly on the set-theoretic background in which you consider it. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 21 at 0:37
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    $\begingroup$ This version of your theory is computably enumerable, and hence admits a computable axiomatization. It includes more than just those consistency assertions, since it includes the assertion that there is a countable transitive model of ZFC, which itself implies the consistency of all those consistency assertions, and larger well-founded models of uncountable ordinal height, and so forth. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 21 at 3:27
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    $\begingroup$ To my way of thinking, the theory is better cast as the common theory of inaccessible $V_\kappa$, since the talk of second-order ZFC invites confusion in the foundations. So this new theory is the ZFC-provable entries into the common theory of inaccessible universes. This theory will also have a strange varying nature, since it is consistent with ZFC that false things are provable from ZFC, so I am not sure what kind of answer you will be seeking. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 21 at 11:50

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