Model Theory for Beginners. 15 Lectures

This book presents an introduction to model theory in 15 lectures. It concentrates on several key concepts: first-order definability, classification of complete types, elementary extensions, categoricity, automorphisms, and saturation; all illustrated with examples that require neither advanced alegbra nor set theory. A full proof of the compactness theorem for countable languages and its applications are given, followed by a discussion of the Ehrefeucht-Mostowski technique for constructing models admitting automorphisms. Additional topics include recursive saturation, nonstandard models of arithmetic, Abraham Robinson's model-theoretic proof of Tarski's theorem on undefinability of truth, and the proof of the Infinite Ramsey Theorem using an elementary extension of the standard model of arithmetic.

This book presents an introduction to model theory in 15 lectures. It concentrates on several key concepts: first-order definability, classification of complete types, elementary extensions, categoricity, automorphisms, and saturation; all illustrated with examples that require neither advanced alegbra nor set theory. A full proof of the compactness theorem for countable languages and its applications are given, followed by a discussion of the Ehrefeucht-Mostowski technique for constructing models admitting automorphisms. Additional topics include recursive saturation, nonstandard models of arithmetic, Abraham Robinson's model-theoretic proof of Tarski's theorem on undefinability of truth, and the proof of the Infinite Ramsey Theorem using an elementary extension of the standard model of arithmetic.