TENSE LOGIC AND STANDARD LOGIC

Contrasted are two approaches to tense logic: (1) adding tense operators to ordinary predicate logic as is generally done in intensional logics, or (2) constructing an applied predicate logic with quantification over moments of time. Philosophical arguments favoring (1) are shown unconvincing. Several type (1) tense logic systems are analyzed, & it is shown that as their complexity increases they tend to converge toward type (2). P. Needham's Temporal Perspective, a Logical Analysis of Temporal Reference in English (Filosofiska Studier 25, Uppsala, 1975) is a clear example of (2), but lacks technical precision. A suggestion by W. V. Quine on writing predicate logic without individual variables is used to support the thesis that types (1) & (2) converge. A. Orianne