An interpretation of first-order logic consists of a non-empty domain
and mappings for function and predicate symbols. Every
-place function symbol is mapped to a function from
to
, and every
-place predicate symbol is mapped to a function from
to the set comprised of two values true
and false.
The domain
is the range of all variables in formulas of first-order
logic, and is called the domain of the interpretation.
For a given interpretation, the truth table of any formula is defined by the following rules.
1. The truth tables for propositional connectives apply to evaluate the value of (
AND
),
(
OR
),
(
implies
), and
(NOT
).
2.
("for all
,
") is true if
is true for any element of
as value of
at free occurrences of
in
. Otherwise,
is false.
3.
("there exists an
such that
") is true if
is true for at least one element of
as value of
at free occurrences of
in
. Otherwise,
is false.
Truth tables for infinite domains of interpretation are infinite. The formulas of first-order logic that are tautologies in any interpretation are called valid formulas. A formula is called satisfiable if it takes at least one true value in some interpretation. A formula whose truth table contains only false in any interpretation is called unsatisfiable.
The Löwenheim-Skolem theorem establishes that any satisfiable formula of first-order
logic is satisfiable in an (aleph-0) domain of interpretation.
Hence, aleph-0 domains are sufficient for interpretation
of first-order logic.