A. Formal type theory
Just as one can develop mathematics in set theory![]()
without explicitly using the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory,in this book we have developed mathematics in univalent foundations without explicitly referring to a formalsystem of homotopy type theory. Nevertheless, it is important to have aprecise description of homotopy type theory as a formal system in order to, for example,
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state and prove its metatheoretic properties, including logicalconsistency,
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construct models, e.g. in simplicial sets, model categories, higher toposes,etc., and
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implement it in proof assistants like Coq or Agda.
Even the logical consistency of homotopy type theory, namely that in the empty context there is no term , is not obvious: if we had erroneouslychosen a definition of equivalence for which , thenunivalence would imply that has an element, since does.Nor is it obvious that, for example, our definition of as a higherinductive type yields a type which behaves like the ordinary circle.
There are two aspects of type theory which we must pin down before addressingsuch questions. Recall from the Introduction that type theorycomprises a set of rules specifying when the judgments and hold—for example, products
are characterized by the rule that whenever and , . To make this precise, we must first defineprecisely the syntax of terms—the objects which these judgmentsrelate; then, we must define precisely the judgments and their rules ofinference
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—the manner in which judgments can be derived from other judgments.
In this appendix, we present two formulations of Martin-Löf typetheory, and of the extensions that constitute homotopy type theory.The first presentation
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(\\autorefsec:syntax-informally) describes the syntax ofterms and the forms of judgments as an extension of the untyped-calculus, while leaving the rules of inference informal.The second (\\autorefsec:syntax-more-formally) defines the terms, judgments,and rules of inference inductively in the style of natural deduction, asis customary in much type-theoretic literature.