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Changes of Mind
An Essay on Rational Belief Revision
Neil Tennant
368 pages
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135 b/w line illustrations
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234x156mm
978-0-19-965575-5
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Hardback
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14 June 2012
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- Uniquely presents a computationally implementable and implemented theory that works
- Interdisciplinary approach bringing together ideas, issues and methods from epistemology, mathematical logic, complexity theory and Prolog programming
- The theory is purposely limited to the simplest and most central features of belief systems and their revisions; and promises extensions to handle more details as the need arises.
- Accessible to both non-specialists with the simple approach, and specialists with the possibilities provided in the extension of the theory
This is the first logically precise, computationally implementable, book-length account of rational belief revision. It explains how a rational agent ought to proceed when adopting a new belief - a difficult matter if the new belief contradicts the agent's old beliefs.
Belief systems are modeled as finite dependency networks. So one can attend not only to what the agent believes, but also to the variety of reasons the agent has for so believing. The computational complexity of the revision problem is characterized. Algorithms for belief revision are
formulated, and implemented in Prolog. The implementation tests well on a range of simple belief-revision problems that pose a variety of challenges for any account of belief revision.
The notion of 'minimal mutilation' of a belief system is explicated precisely for situations when the agent is faced with conflicting beliefs. The proposed revision methods are invariant across different global justificatory structures (foundationalist, coherentist, etc.). They respect the intuition that, when revising one's beliefs, one should not hold on to any belief that has lost all its former justifications. The limitation to finite dependency networks is shown not to compromise theoretical generality.
This account affords a novel way to argue that there is an
inviolable core of logical principles. These principles, which form the system of Core Logic, cannot be given up, on pain of not being able to carry out the reasoning involved in rationally revising beliefs.
The book ends by comparing and contrasting the new account with some major representatives of earlier alternative approaches, from the fields of formal epistemology, artificial intelligence and mathematical logic.Readership: Researchers, graduate students and professionals in Philosophy, Mathematics, Computer Science, Aritifical Intelligence and Mathematical Logic.
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Neil Tennant, Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor in Philosophy, and Adjunct Professor in Cognitive Science, The Ohio State University Neil Tennant holds a BA in Mathematics and Philosophy, and a PhD in logic, from the University of Cambridge. His researches in Logic and Philosophy of Science have been supported by the British Academy, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Australian Research Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has held chairs in Philosophy at the University of Stirling and the Australian National University, and visiting professorships or fellowships at Dartmouth College, the University of Michigan, the Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science, The
ANU Institute for Advanced Studies, and Churchill College, Cambridge. He is currently Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor in Philosophy at The Ohio State University.
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"Tennant does not just propose a new and original way of thinking of belief systems, and their associated types of change; he also executes his research program in impressive detail...a significant and highly original contribution to philosophical logic by one of its leading practitioners." - Erik Olsson, Lund University, Sweden
"Neil Tennant is a highly original logician who looks at belief revision and related topics with a fresh eye, rejecting accepted paradigms and thinking outside the box. His book is a welcome addition to the field.
" - Rohit Parikh, The City University of New York, USA
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1: Introduction
Part I: Computational Considerations
2: Computing Changes in Belief
3: Global Conditions on Contraction
4: A Formal Theory of Contraction
5: Specification of a Contraction Algorithm
6: A Prolog Program for Contraction
7: Results of Running our Program for Contraction
Part II: Logical and Philosophical Considerations
8: Core Logic is the Inviolable Core of Logic
9: The Finitary Predicament
10: Mathematical Justifications are Not Infinitely Various
Part III: Comparisons
11: Differences with Other Formal Theories
12: Connections with Various Epistemological Accounts
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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