In contrast to the prevailing tradition in epistemology, the focus in this book is on low-level inferences, i.e., those inferences that we are usually not consciously aware of and that we share with the cat nearby which infers that the bird which she sees picking grains from the dirt, is able to fly. Presumably, such inferences are not generated by explicit logical reasoning, but logical methods can be used to describe and analyze such inferences.
Part 1 gives a purely system-theoretic explication of belief and inference. Part 2 adds a reliabilist theory of justification for inference, with a qualitative notion of reliability being employed. Part 3 recalls and extends various systems of deductive and nonmonotonic logic and thereby explains the semantics of absolute and high reliability. In Part 4 it is proven that qualitative neural networks are able to draw justified deductive and nonmonotonic inferences on the basis of distributed representations. This is derived from a soundness/completeness theorem with regard to cognitive semantics of nonmonotonic reasoning. The appendix extends the theory both logically and ontologically, and relates it to A. Goldman's reliability account of justified belief.
Author(s): Hannes Leitgeb
Series: Applied Logic Series 30
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 386
Tags: Epistemology;Logic;Artificial Intelligence (incl. Robotics);Statistical Physics, Dynamical Systems and Complexity
Front Matter....Pages i-ix
Introduction....Pages 1-5
Preliminaries....Pages 7-21
Front Matter....Pages 23-23
Belief....Pages 25-53
Inference....Pages 55-85
Front Matter....Pages 87-87
General Remarks on Justification and Justified Belief....Pages 89-100
An Informal Account of Our Theory of Justified Inference....Pages 101-120
A Discussion of Reliability....Pages 121-143
A Theory of Justified Inference....Pages 145-161
Front Matter....Pages 163-163
The Semantics of Deductive and Nonmonotonic Logic....Pages 165-188
Systems of Deductive and Nonmonotonic Logic....Pages 189-196
Soundness and Completeness Results....Pages 197-201
Further Consequences for Justified Inference....Pages 203-207
Front Matter....Pages 209-209
Introductory Remarks....Pages 211-224
Inhibition Nets as Simple Neural Networks....Pages 225-240
Interpreted Inhibition Net Agents....Pages 241-260
Cumulative-Ordered Interpreted Inh. Net Agents and the System CL....Pages 261-280
Cumulative-Ordered Interpreted Inhibition Net Agents as Ideal Agents....Pages 281-283
Inhibition Nets and Other Forms of Nonmonotonic Reasoning....Pages 285-289
Inhibition Nets and Artificial Neural Networks....Pages 291-294
Discussion....Pages 295-298
Front Matter....Pages 299-299
Digression on States, Dispositions, Causation, Processes....Pages 301-326
Goldman’s Reliability Account of Justified Belief....Pages 327-344
A Sketch of Logic Programming....Pages 345-347
Preferential Interpreted Inhibition Net Agents and the System P....Pages 349-359
Cumulative Interpreted Inhibition Net Agents and the System C....Pages 361-366
Simple Cumulative Interpreted Inhibition Net Agents and the System CM....Pages 367-369
Simple Preferential Interpreted Inhibition net Agents and the System M....Pages 371-373
Back Matter....Pages 375-386
