Nonmonotonic Reasoning: A Logical Approach

Title: Nonmonotonic Reasoning: A Logical Approach

Abstract: This research investigated the concept of a nonmonotonic knowledge base, which consists of conditional assertions that represent an agent's general understanding of how the world typically behaves. The study focused on defining a logical approach to nonmonotonic reasoning based on a nonmonotonic consequence relation. The authors proposed a more restricted class of consequence relations called rational relations, arguing that any reasonable nonmonotonic inference procedure should define a rational relation. They showed that rational relations can be represented by ranked preferential models or non-standard probabilistic models. The authors introduced the concept of the rational closure of a conditional knowledge base and proved that it provides an attractive answer to the question of what constitutes a reasonable conclusion. They also discussed global properties of this closure operation and demonstrated its computational tractability. This research assumes a propositional language and contributes to the ongoing efforts to develop a comprehensive and universally accepted model of nonmonotonic reasoning.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0202022v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0202022v1