In first-order logic, a predicate variable is a predicate letter which can stand for a relation (between terms) but which has not been specifically assigned any particular relation (or meaning). In first-order logic (FOL) they can be more properly called metalinguistic variables. In higher-order logic, predicate variables correspond to propositional variables which can stand for well-formed formulas of the same logic, and such variables can be quantified by means of (at least) second-order quantifiers.
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Famous quotes containing the words predicate and/or variable:
“The only thing that one really knows about human nature is that it changes. Change is the one quality we can predicate of it. The systems that fail are those that rely on the permanency of human nature, and not on its growth and development. The error of Louis XIV was that he thought human nature would always be the same. The result of his error was the French Revolution. It was an admirable result.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“There is not so variable a thing in nature as a lady’s head-dress.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)