Beck (2001): Reciprocals are Definites #
@cite{beck-2001}
Natural Language Semantics 9(1): 69–138. doi:10.1023/A:1012203407127.
The @cite{heim-lasnik-may-1991} analysis of reciprocals — each other
means "the other ones among them" — is recast as a special kind of
relational plural. Interpretational variability across the six known
reciprocal readings (Strong Reciprocity, Partitioned Strong Reciprocity,
Intermediate Reciprocity, Weak Reciprocity, One-way Weak Reciprocity,
Inclusive Alternative Ordering) is derived not from ambiguity of the
reciprocal itself but from the standard mechanisms of plural predication:
the * distribution operator (@cite{link-1983}), the ** cumulation
operator (@cite{beck-sauerland-2000}), @cite{schwarzschild-1996} covers,
QR, and the addition of contextual information. The reciprocal expression
is uniformly "the other ones among them" — the variability is at the
plural-predication layer.
What is formalized #
A scope-bounded slice of the paper:
| Paper § | Topic | Lean encoding |
|---|---|---|
| §2 | Four reciprocal readings | Prop predicates over (A, R) |
| §2.6 | Entailment lattice (eq 28) | Implication theorems |
| §3.3 | HLM "the other ones among them" (eq 76) | otherOnesAmongThem |
| §4.3 | Bare **(R)(A,A) coverage forward dir | weaklyReciprocal_implies_cumulative_R |
| §4.3.2 | Beck eq 120 = @cite{sternefeld-1998} eq 26b (bivalent) | weaklyReciprocal_iff_cumulative_with_distinctness |
| §4.3.2 | Distinctness as presupposition | Bridge to H&D 2020 |
The two readings whose definitions involve unbounded existentials —
Partitioned SR (paper eq 12, ∃ partition) and Intermediate
Reciprocity (paper eq 17, ∃ chain) — are documented in prose but
defined as Prop only with no entailment theorems against the four
basic readings.
Sections out of scope for a study-file size budget:
- The full §3 plural-predication machinery (
*,**, covers, QR-based LF) — substrate-deferred toPlurality.{Distributivity, Cumulativity, Cover}.leanand consumed at the predicate level here. - §4.2's @cite{sternefeld-1998} critique (negation interaction, distinct subgroups effect) — would require formalising Sternefeld 1998 itself.
- §5 intermediate reciprocity via salient relations.
- §6 SMH application — synthesised SMH refutation already in
Reciprocals.lean'sSMH_diverges_from_relational.
Connection to H&D 2020 #
@cite{haug-dalrymple-2020} formalises reciprocity in PPCDRT (plural partial CDRT) — a fundamentally different framework from Beck's HLM + plural-predication apparatus. Despite the framework difference, both papers converge on the presuppositional treatment of distinctness (paper §4.3.2 ↔ H&D 2020 eq 41) — both agree against @cite{sternefeld-1998}'s asserted treatment.
The two papers diverge on the derivation method:
- Beck: HLM "the other ones among them" +
**cumulation + covers- QR. WR derives from
**applied to the HLM-denoted reciprocal.
- QR. WR derives from
- H&D: anaphoric relations (binding, group identity, reciprocity) in PPCDRT. WR is the basic reading; SR derives from Maximize Anaphora.
The §6 cross-paper bridge beck_cumulativity_on_equality_iff_HD_groupIdentity
makes the convergence visible at the type level: H&D's group identity is
Beck-Sauerland ** applied to equality on the sum-dref value-sets, while
Beck applies ** to the verb relation. Both consume the same machinery —
@cite{langendoen-1978}'s reciprocity-as-cumulativity is the shared insight.
Note on imports: this file does not import
HaugDalrymple2020.lean directly — per the convention used by
DalrympleHaug2024.lean and Rakosi2019.lean, cross-paper references
are made via @cite{} in docstrings while substrate-level theorems
chain through PPCDRT/Cumulativity.lean (which both papers consume).
Strong Reciprocity (paper eq 10): ∀x ∈ A. ∀y ∈ A. y ≠ x → xRy.
Every distinct pair is in the relation.
Equations
- Beck2001.stronglyReciprocal A R = ∀ x ∈ A, ∀ y ∈ A, y ≠ x → R x y
Instances For
Equations
- Beck2001.stronglyReciprocal.instDecidable A R = id inferInstance
Weak Reciprocity (paper eq 20, @cite{langendoen-1978}): for each x in A, some y is R-related to x, and for each y in A, some x is R-related to y. Captures "the prisoners released each other" / "the children give each other a present".
Equations
- Beck2001.weaklyReciprocal A R = ((∀ x ∈ A, ∃ y ∈ A, R x y ∧ x ≠ y) ∧ ∀ y ∈ A, ∃ x ∈ A, R x y ∧ x ≠ y)
Instances For
Equations
- Beck2001.weaklyReciprocal.instDecidable A R = id inferInstance
One-way Weak Reciprocity (paper eq 25): only the first direction is required. "The pirates are staring at each other" — pirate 6 is not stared at by anybody, but everyone stares at someone.
Equations
- Beck2001.onewayWeaklyReciprocal A R = ∀ x ∈ A, ∃ y ∈ A, R x y ∧ x ≠ y
Instances For
Equations
- Beck2001.onewayWeaklyReciprocal.instDecidable A R = id inferInstance
Inclusive Alternative Ordering (paper eq 27, Kanski 1987 — no bib entry yet): each member of A participates in the relation as either first or second argument. "The plates are stacked on top of each other" — each plate is on top of one or has one on top of itself.
Equations
- Beck2001.inclusiveAlternativeOrdering A R = ∀ x ∈ A, ∃ y ∈ A, x ≠ y ∧ (R x y ∨ R y x)
Instances For
Equations
- Beck2001.inclusiveAlternativeOrdering.instDecidable A R = id inferInstance
Partitioned Strong Reciprocity (paper eq 12, Fiengo & Lasnik 1973
— no bib entry yet): there is a partition PART of A such that SR
holds within each cell. "The men are hitting each other" can be true
if the men team up in pairs that stand in the hit-relation.
Equations
- Beck2001.partitionedStronglyReciprocal A R = ∃ (PART : Finset (Finset α)), (∀ X ∈ PART, X ⊆ A) ∧ (∀ a ∈ A, ∃ X ∈ PART, a ∈ X) ∧ ∀ X ∈ PART, ∀ x ∈ X, ∀ y ∈ X, y ≠ x → R x y
Instances For
Intermediate Reciprocity (paper eq 17): any two members of A are connected by a chain of elements that stand in the reciprocal relation. "Five Boston pitchers sat alongside each other."
Equations
- Beck2001.intermediatelyReciprocal A R = ∀ x ∈ A, ∀ y ∈ A, y ≠ x → ∃ (chain : List α), chain.head? = some x ∧ chain.getLast? = some y ∧ (∀ z ∈ chain, z ∈ A) ∧ List.IsChain R chain
Instances For
Beck's entailment lattice (paper eq 28) is a Hasse diagram with parallel weakening from SR:
```
SR
/ \
IR PartSR
\ /
WR
|
OWR
|
IAO
```
SR weakens *in parallel* into IR and PartSR; both reconverge at WR.
Below WR the lattice is a chain (WR → OWR → IAO).
The fragment we prove here covers the **right-hand spine** of the
diagram: SR → WR (the SR-to-WR shortcut, which equally bypasses
the IR and PartSR intermediates) plus WR → OWR → IAO.
SR implies WR (paper eq 28, right-hand spine).
WR implies OWR: bidirectional coverage entails one-direction coverage.
OWR implies IAO: one-direction coverage entails the disjunctive
xRy ∨ yRx form.
Composition: SR → IAO via the right-hand spine SR → WR → OWR → IAO.
Paper eq 76: each other = max(*λz[¬z∘x₁ ∧ z ≤ x₃ ∧ Cov(z)]) —
"the other ones among them" via the maximum of the (covered) parts
of the antecedent group that are not (overlapping) the contrast
argument.
Skipping the full LF (the * operator, the cover variable Cov, the
QR-introduced trace x₁), the denotation reduces to: given an
antecedent group A and a contrast individual x, return the
maximal subgroup of A that does not include x. For singularity parts
(the simplest case, paper p. 92), this is A \ {x}.
Layered-grounding gap: the full eq 76 invokes Sharvy max
(Core/Nominal/Maximality.lean provides the substrate) and Link *
(Plurality/Link1983.lean); current A.erase x is the simplest
case. Promoting otherOnesAmongThem to consume Nominal/Maximality
is queued (Tier-4 of the cross-framework auditor's recommendation
list).
Equations
- Beck2001.otherOnesAmongThem A x = A.erase x
Instances For
The reciprocal denotation excludes the contrast argument.
The reciprocal denotation is a subgroup of the antecedent.
For an antecedent group with at least 2 members, the
otherOnesAmongThem denotation is non-empty for any element.
Beck (paper §4.3) extends @cite{sternefeld-1998}'s reciprocity-as-
cumulativity analysis with one refinement: distinctness is marked
as presupposition rather than assertion. Reading
@cite{sternefeld-1998} directly (eq 26b, p. 316), the distinctness
clause x ≠ y is INSIDE the **'s relation argument in BOTH
analyses — ⟨A,A⟩ ∈ **λxy[R(x,y) ∧ x ≠ y] for Sternefeld vs
**(λxλy.[R(x,y) ∧ @(x ≠ y)])(A,A) for Beck eq 120. The two
differ only in the trivalent assertion-vs-presupposition status of
x ≠ y (visible only when R holds with x = y).
In bivalent encoding both collapse to `weaklyReciprocal` — see
`weaklyReciprocal_iff_cumulative_with_distinctness` below. The
bare-`**(R)(A,A)` shape (without inner distinctness) is what
NEITHER paper proposes; the forward direction
`weaklyReciprocal → Cumulative R` is just a structural weakening,
not a faithful analysis of either.
Forward weakening: WR truth conditions entail bare
Beck-Sauerland **(R)(A,A) coverage of the verb relation
(without inner distinctness). This is strictly weaker than
either @cite{sternefeld-1998} eq 26b or @cite{beck-2001} eq 120
— both of those put the distinctness clause x ≠ y INSIDE the
relation argument (see weaklyReciprocal_iff_cumulative_with_distinctness).
Forward direction holds because WR's R(x,y) ∧ x ≠ y witnesses
are a fortiori R(x,y) witnesses.
@cite{sternefeld-1998} eq 26b ↔ @cite{beck-2001} eq 120 (bivalent
collapse): WR truth conditions are exactly **(λxλy.[R(x,y) ∧ x ≠ y])(A,A) — Beck-Sauerland cumulation applied to the relation
R strengthened by per-witness distinctness. The @
presupposition marker of Beck eq 120 collapses to assertion in
bivalent encoding, yielding the same predicate as Sternefeld
eq 26b's asserted R(x,y) ∧ x ≠ y.
The Sternefeld 1998 ↔ Beck 2001 divergence is therefore only
visible in trivalent semantics: Sternefeld returns false when R
holds with x = y; Beck returns "undefined" (presupposition
failure). See Studies/Sternefeld1998.lean for the cross-paper
bridge sternefeldWR_iff_weaklyReciprocal.
Beck §4.3.2 (paper p. 105, eq 121d) and @cite{haug-dalrymple-2020}
eq 41 (PPCDRT paper p. 18) converge on the presuppositional
treatment of reciprocal distinctness. @cite{sternefeld-1998}
eq 26b also has distinctness inside the **'s relation argument
but treats it as asserted, not presupposed — the Beck/H&D
refinement is the assertion → presupposition status change.
Beck's argument (paper §4.3.2): the distinctness condition `x ≠ y`
must project as a presupposition (paper eq 121d marks distinctness
as `@(x ≠ y)`), NOT be part of the asserted content. Otherwise we
mispredict a tautological reading for "they don't like each other"
(paper eq 100). The presuppositional analysis correctly predicts
the distinct-subgroups effect.
H&D 2020's analysis (eq 41): `[[each other]] = λP. [u | ∂(∪u =
∪𝒜(u)), ∂(u ≠ 𝒜(u))]; P(u)`. The `∂` wrapper makes BOTH the group
identity condition and the distinctness condition presuppositional.
Both papers therefore agree that distinctness is presuppositional;
they disagree on the framework (Beck: HLM + `**` + covers; H&D:
PPCDRT). Below we make the substrate-level convergence visible at
the type level.
Beck-shaped cumulativity coverage on equality reduces to H&D 2020
group identity. Both Beck (paper §4.3, eq 120) and
@cite{haug-dalrymple-2020} (eq 41) invoke ** (Cumulative); they
differ in the relation argument. Beck applies ** to the verb
relation R (yielding WR coverage); H&D's group identity is what
you get when you apply ** to equality on the sum-dref value-sets.
The two analyses therefore consume the same machinery; this theorem
makes the convergence visible at the type level.
@cite{langendoen-1978}'s reciprocity-as-cumulativity is the shared insight; this is its first true cross-paper realization in linglib.
(Coverage, distinctness) factorization theorem — replaces the
previous-session True := trivial placeholder with a real typed
statement of the cross-paper convergence.
Both Beck eq 120 and @cite{haug-dalrymple-2020} reciprocityCond
factor reciprocity into a coverage component plus a distinctness
component. The coverage components are bridged by
groupIdentityCond_iff_cumulative_eq (chained as
beck_cumulativity_on_equality_iff_HD_groupIdentity above) — Beck's
**-on-equality is H&D's group identity. The distinctness components
are pointwise per-state distinctness on either side.
Concretely: a Beck-shaped pair (coverage on equality, distinctness)
over the value-sets matches an H&D reciprocityCond over the same
plural state.
Divergence with @cite{sternefeld-1998} is only visible in
trivalent semantics. In bivalent encoding, Sternefeld eq 26b and
Beck eq 120 produce the same predicate — formally witnessed by
Sternefeld1998.sternefeldWR_iff_weaklyReciprocal (chained
through weaklyReciprocal_iff_cumulative_with_distinctness
above). The presupposition-vs-assertion divergence on truth-value
gaps when R holds with x = y requires ∂ substrate (PPCDRT
operator set was trimmed in 0.230.781; queued).
Originally this section housed a `True := trivial` placeholder
citing eq 98 of Sternefeld; that attribution was wrong (Sternefeld
1998 has only ~70 numbered equations, the highest-numbered being
eq 70 on p. 335). The actual Sternefeld WR analysis (eq 26b)
coincides with Beck's eq 120 in bivalent encoding; the structural
equivalence is now witnessed by the Sternefeld1998.lean bridge.