Reason Maintenance - State of the Art

This paper describes state of the art in reason maintenance with a focus on its future usage in the KiWi project. To give a bigger picture of the field, it also mentions closely related issues such as non-monotonic logic and paraconsistency. The paper is organized as follows: first, two motivating scenarios referring to semantic wikis are presented which are then used to introduce the different reason maintenance techniques

Local logics, non-monotonicity and defeasible argumentation

In this paper we present an embedding of abstract argumentation systems into the framework of Barwise and Seligman’s logic of information flow.We show that, taking P.M. Dung’s characterization of argument systems, a local logic over states of a deliberation may be constructed. In this structure, the key feature of non-monotonicity of commonsense reasoning obtains as the transition from one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions of Barwise and Seligman’s logic of information flow.We show that, taking P.M. Dung’s characterization of argument systems, a local logic over states of a deliberation may be constructed. In this structure, the key feature of non-monotonicity of commonsense reasoning obtains as the transition from one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions of Barwise and Seligman’s logic of information flow.We show that, taking P.M. Dung’s characterization of argument systems, a local logic over states of a deliberation may be constructed. In this structure, the key feature of non-monotonicity of commonsense reasoning obtains as the transition from one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions of Barwise and Seligman’s logic of information flow.We show that, taking P.M. Dung’s characterization of argument systems, a local logic over states of a deliberation may be constructed. In this structure, the key feature of non-monotonicity of commonsense reasoning obtains as the transition from one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions of Barwise and Seligman’s logic of information flow.We show that, taking P.M. Dung’s characterization of argument systems, a local logic over states of a deliberation may be constructed. In this structure, the key feature of non-monotonicity of commonsense reasoning obtains as the transition from one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions one local logic to another, due to a change in certain background conditions. Each of Dung’s extensions of argument systems leads to a corresponding ordering of background conditions. The relations among extensions becomes a relation among partial orderings of background conditions. This introduces a conceptual innovation in Barwise and Seligman’s representation of commonsense reasoning.Fil: Bodanza, Gustavo Adrian. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Humanidades; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Tohmé, Fernando Abel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentin

Theory formation by abduction : a case study based on the chemical revolution

Abduction is the process of constructing explanations. This chapter suggests that automated abduction is a key to advancing beyond the "routine theory revision" methods developed in early AI research towards automated reasoning systems capable of "world model revision" - dramatic changes in systems of beliefs such as occur in children's cognitive development and in scientific revolutions. The chapter describes a general approach to automating theory revision based upon computational methods for theory formation by abduction. The approach is based on the idea that, when an anomaly is encountered, the best course is often simply to suppress parts of the original theory thrown into question by the contradiction and to derive an explanation of the anomalous observation based on relatively solid, basic principles. This process of looking for explanations of unexpected new phenomena can lead by abductive inference to new hypotheses that can form crucial parts of a revised theory. As an illustration, the chapter shows how some of Lavoisier's key insights during the Chemical Revolution can be viewed as examples of theory formation by abduction

Modelling Theory Communities in Science

This position paper presents a framework for modelling theory communities where theories interact as agents in a conceptual network. It starts with introducing the difficulties in integrating scientific theories by discussing some recent approaches, especially of structuralist theory of science. Theories might differ in reference, extension, scope, objectives, functions, architecture, language etc. To address these potential integration barriers, the paper employs a broad definition of "scientific theory", where a theory is a more or less complex description a describer puts forward in a context called science with the aim of making sense of the world. This definition opens up the agency dimension of theories: theories "do" something. They work on a - however ontologically interpreted - subject matter. They describe something, and most of them claim that their descriptions of this "something" are superior to those of others. For modelling purposes, the paper makes use of such description behaviour of scientific theories on two levels. The first is the level where theories describe the world in their terms. The second is a sub-case of the first: theories can of course describe the description behaviour of other theories concerning this world and compare with own description behaviour. From here, interaction and potential cooperation between theories could be potentially identified by each theory perspective individually. Generating inclusive theory communities and simulating their dynamics using an agent-based model means to implement theories as agents; to create an environment where the agents work as autonomous entities in a self-constituted universe of discourse; to observe what they do with this environment (they will try to apply their concepts, and instantiate their mechanisms of sense-making); and to let them mutually describe and analyse their behaviour and suggest areas for interaction. Some mechanisms for compatibility testing are discussed and the prototype of the model with preliminary applications is introduced.Simulating Science, Theory Interaction, Agent-Based Modelling, Theory Network

A beginner's guide to belief revision and truth maintenance systems

This brief note is intended to familiarize the non-TMS audience with some of the basic ideas surrounding classic TMS's (truth maintenance systems), namely the justification-based TMS and the assumption-based TMS. Topics of further interest include the relation between non-monotonic logics and TMS's, efficiency and search issues, complexity concerns, as well as the variety of TMS systems that have surfaced in the past decade or so. These include probabilistic-based TMS systems, fuzzy TMS systems, tri-valued belief systems, and so on