17,894 research outputs found
Truth Predicates, Truth Bearers, and their Variants
This paper argues that truth predicates in natural language and their variants, predicates of correctness, satisfaction and validity, do not apply to propositions (not even with 'that'-clauses), but rather to a range of attitudinal and modal objects. As such natural language reflects a notion of truth that is primarily a normative notion of correctness constitutive of representational objects. The paper moreover argues that 'true' is part of a larger class of satisfaction predicates whose semantic differences are best accounted for in terms of a truthmaker theory along the lines of Fine's recent truthmaker semantics
On Verifying Complex Properties using Symbolic Shape Analysis
One of the main challenges in the verification of software systems is the
analysis of unbounded data structures with dynamic memory allocation, such as
linked data structures and arrays. We describe Bohne, a new analysis for
verifying data structures. Bohne verifies data structure operations and shows
that 1) the operations preserve data structure invariants and 2) the operations
satisfy their specifications expressed in terms of changes to the set of
objects stored in the data structure. During the analysis, Bohne infers loop
invariants in the form of disjunctions of universally quantified Boolean
combinations of formulas. To synthesize loop invariants of this form, Bohne
uses a combination of decision procedures for Monadic Second-Order Logic over
trees, SMT-LIB decision procedures (currently CVC Lite), and an automated
reasoner within the Isabelle interactive theorem prover. This architecture
shows that synthesized loop invariants can serve as a useful communication
mechanism between different decision procedures. Using Bohne, we have verified
operations on data structures such as linked lists with iterators and back
pointers, trees with and without parent pointers, two-level skip lists, array
data structures, and sorted lists. We have deployed Bohne in the Hob and Jahob
data structure analysis systems, enabling us to combine Bohne with analyses of
data structure clients and apply it in the context of larger programs. This
report describes the Bohne algorithm as well as techniques that Bohne uses to
reduce the ammount of annotations and the running time of the analysis
Attitudinal Objects
This paper defends the view that attitudinal objects such as claims, beliefs, judgments, and requests form an ontological category of its own sharply distinguished from that of events and states and that of propositions. Attitudinal objects play a central role in attitude reports and avoid the conceptual and empirical problems for propositions. Unlike the latter, attitudinal objects bear a particular connection to normativity. The paper will also discuss the syntactic basis of a semantics of attitude reports based on attitudinal objects
Understanding Predication in Conceptual Spaces
We argue that a cognitive semantics has to take into account the possibly
partial information that a cognitive agent has of the world. After discussing
Gärdenfors's view of objects in conceptual spaces, we offer a number of viable
treatments of partiality of information and we formalize them by means of alternative
predicative logics. Our analysis shows that understanding the nature of simple
predicative sentences is crucial for a cognitive semantics
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