Reasoning about the objects of attitudes and operators: towards a disquotation theory for representation of propositional content

ABSTRACT

S believes that P, S promises that P, S says that P, and so on are examples of sentences with embedded propositional content (that P in these examples.). Such sentences are ubiquitous in everyday reasoning, in legal reasoning, and in conducting business. This paper sketches an approach to formalizing such sentences for purposes of automated reasoning. The method advocated, called the disquotation theory of propositional content, applies to modeling formally propositional attitude sentences, as well as modal and deontic sentences. Exploiting the resources of event semantics, the method generates intensional contexts of the highest degree, then allows relaxations via added axioms.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS

General Terms:
Design, Theory