Tense Logical Characterizability and Definability

Abstract

We must consider in some detail the fundamental question: How much of temporal logic can be expressed in terms of tenses alone? We have already seen that some quite simple properties of temporal ordering cannot be so expressed, while certain apparently very complex properties — such as continuity — can be expressed in this way. To make a start at a general theory of tense-logical expressibility, we can adopt some of the outlook of classical model theory by trying to link up formulas with the tense-structures that they characterize.