# A Simple Logic of Functional Dependence

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.14946 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.14946/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 27 Mar 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [A unified logical framework for explanations in classifier systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.14452/) (2021)
- [The Logic of Doxastic Strategies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07107/) (2023)
- [Interleaving Logic and Counting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05219/) (2025)
- [Dynamic Logic of Trust-Based Beliefs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.00899/) (2025)
- [Towards an Inferentialist Account of Information Through Proof-theoretic Semantics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.05368/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents a simple decidable logic of functional dependence LFD, based on an extension of classical propositional logic with dependence atoms plus dependence quantifiers treated as modalities, within the setting of generalized assignment semantics for first order logic. The expressive strength, complete proof calculus and meta-properties of LFD are explored. Various language extensions are presented as well, up to undecidable modal-style logics for independence and dynamic logics of changing dependence models. Finally, more concrete settings for dependence are discussed: continuous dependence in topological models, linear dependence in vector spaces, and temporal dependence in dynamical systems and games.