Linearly ordered semigroups for fuzzy set theory

Abstract

The fuzzy set theory initiated by Zadeh (Information Control 8:338–353, 1965) was based on the real unit interval [0,1] for support of membership functions with the natural product for intersection operation. This paper proposes to extend this definition by using the more general linearly ordered semigroup structure. As Moisil (Essais sur les Logiques non Chrysippiennes. Académie des Sciences de Roumanie, Bucarest, 1972, p. 162) proposed to define Lukasiewicz logics on an abelian ordered group for truth values set, we give a simple negative answer to the question on the possibility to build a Many-valued logic on a finite abelian ordered group. In a constructive way characteristic properties are step by step deduced from the corresponding set theory to the semigroup order structure. Some results of Clifford on topological semigroups (Clifford, A.H., Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 9:682–687, 1958; Clifford, A.H., Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 88:80–98, 1958), Paalman de Miranda work on I-semigroups (Paalman de Miranda, A.B., Topological Semigroups. Mathematical Centre Tracts, Amsterdam, 1964) and Schweitzer, Sklar on T-norms (Schweizer, B., Sklar, A., Publ. Math. Debrecen 10:69–81, 1963; Schweizer, B., Sklar, A., Pacific J. Math. 10:313–334, 1960; Schweizer, B., Sklar, A., Publ. Math. Debrecen 8:169–186, 1961) are revisited in this framework. As a simple consequence of Faucett theorems (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 6:741–747, 1955), we prove how canonical properties from the fuzzy set theory point of view lead to the Zadeh choice thus giving another proof of the representation theorem of T-norms. This structural approach shall give a new perspective to tackle the question of G. Moisil about the definition of discrete Many-valued logics as approximation of fuzzy continuous ones.