1,530 research outputs found
Parametric Constructive Kripke-Semantics for Standard Multi-Agent Belief and Knowledge (Knowledge As Unbiased Belief)
We propose parametric constructive Kripke-semantics for multi-agent
KD45-belief and S5-knowledge in terms of elementary set-theoretic constructions
of two basic functional building blocks, namely bias (or viewpoint) and
visibility, functioning also as the parameters of the doxastic and epistemic
accessibility relation. The doxastic accessibility relates two possible worlds
whenever the application of the composition of bias with visibility to the
first world is equal to the application of visibility to the second world. The
epistemic accessibility is the transitive closure of the union of our doxastic
accessibility and its converse. Therefrom, accessibility relations for common
and distributed belief and knowledge can be constructed in a standard way. As a
result, we obtain a general definition of knowledge in terms of belief that
enables us to view S5-knowledge as accurate (unbiased and thus true)
KD45-belief, negation-complete belief and knowledge as exact KD45-belief and
S5-knowledge, respectively, and perfect S5-knowledge as precise (exact and
accurate) KD45-belief, and all this generically for arbitrary functions of bias
and visibility. Our results can be seen as a semantic complement to previous
foundational results by Halpern et al. about the (un)definability and
(non-)reducibility of knowledge in terms of and to belief, respectively
Vienna Circle and Logical Analysis of Relativity Theory
In this paper we present some of our school's results in the area of building
up relativity theory (RT) as a hierarchy of theories in the sense of logic. We
use plain first-order logic (FOL) as in the foundation of mathematics (FOM) and
we build on experience gained in FOM.
The main aims of our school are the following: We want to base the theory on
simple, unambiguous axioms with clear meanings. It should be absolutely
understandable for any reader what the axioms say and the reader can decide
about each axiom whether he likes it. The theory should be built up from these
axioms in a straightforward, logical manner. We want to provide an analysis of
the logical structure of the theory. We investigate which axioms are needed for
which predictions of RT. We want to make RT more transparent logically, easier
to understand, easier to change, modular, and easier to teach. We want to
obtain deeper understanding of RT.
Our work can be considered as a case-study showing that the Vienna Circle's
(VC) approach to doing science is workable and fruitful when performed with
using the insights and tools of mathematical logic acquired since its formation
years at the very time of the VC activity. We think that logical positivism was
based on the insight and anticipation of what mathematical logic is capable
when elaborated to some depth. Logical positivism, in great part represented by
VC, influenced and took part in the birth of modern mathematical logic. The
members of VC were brave forerunners and pioneers.Comment: 25 pages, 1 firgure
The prospects for mathematical logic in the twenty-first century
The four authors present their speculations about the future developments of
mathematical logic in the twenty-first century. The areas of recursion theory,
proof theory and logic for computer science, model theory, and set theory are
discussed independently.Comment: Association for Symbolic Logi
Finiteness conditions for graph algebras over tropical semirings
Connection matrices for graph parameters with values in a field have been
introduced by M. Freedman, L. Lov{\'a}sz and A. Schrijver (2007). Graph
parameters with connection matrices of finite rank can be computed in
polynomial time on graph classes of bounded tree-width. We introduce join
matrices, a generalization of connection matrices, and allow graph parameters
to take values in the tropical rings (max-plus algebras) over the real numbers.
We show that rank-finiteness of join matrices implies that these graph
parameters can be computed in polynomial time on graph classes of bounded
clique-width. In the case of graph parameters with values in arbitrary
commutative semirings, this remains true for graph classes of bounded linear
clique-width. B. Godlin, T. Kotek and J.A. Makowsky (2008) showed that
definability of a graph parameter in Monadic Second Order Logic implies rank
finiteness. We also show that there are uncountably many integer valued graph
parameters with connection matrices or join matrices of fixed finite rank. This
shows that rank finiteness is a much weaker assumption than any definability
assumption.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for presentation at FPSAC 2014 (Chicago, June 29
-July 3, 2014), to appear in Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer
Scienc
Comparing theories: the dynamics of changing vocabulary. A case-study in relativity theory
There are several first-order logic (FOL) axiomatizations of special
relativity theory in the literature, all looking essentially different but
claiming to axiomatize the same physical theory. In this paper, we elaborate a
comparison, in the framework of mathematical logic, between these FOL theories
for special relativity. For this comparison, we use a version of mathematical
definability theory in which new entities can also be defined besides new
relations over already available entities. In particular, we build an
interpretation of the reference-frame oriented theory SpecRel into the
observationally oriented Signalling theory of James Ax. This interpretation
provides SpecRel with an operational/experimental semantics. Then we make
precise, "quantitative" comparisons between these two theories via using the
notion of definitional equivalence. This is an application of logic to the
philosophy of science and physics in the spirit of Johan van Benthem's work.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Springer Book series Trends in
Logi
Fixed-parameter tractability, definability, and model checking
In this article, we study parameterized complexity theory from the
perspective of logic, or more specifically, descriptive complexity theory.
We propose to consider parameterized model-checking problems for various
fragments of first-order logic as generic parameterized problems and show how
this approach can be useful in studying both fixed-parameter tractability and
intractability. For example, we establish the equivalence between the
model-checking for existential first-order logic, the homomorphism problem for
relational structures, and the substructure isomorphism problem. Our main
tractability result shows that model-checking for first-order formulas is
fixed-parameter tractable when restricted to a class of input structures with
an excluded minor. On the intractability side, for every t >= 0 we prove an
equivalence between model-checking for first-order formulas with t quantifier
alternations and the parameterized halting problem for alternating Turing
machines with t alternations. We discuss the close connection between this
alternation hierarchy and Downey and Fellows' W-hierarchy.
On a more abstract level, we consider two forms of definability, called Fagin
definability and slicewise definability, that are appropriate for describing
parameterized problems. We give a characterization of the class FPT of all
fixed-parameter tractable problems in terms of slicewise definability in finite
variable least fixed-point logic, which is reminiscent of the Immerman-Vardi
Theorem characterizing the class PTIME in terms of definability in least
fixed-point logic.Comment: To appear in SIAM Journal on Computin
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