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On a rule-based interpretation of default conditionals

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Abstract

In nonmonotonic reasoning, a default conditional α→β has most often been informally interpreted as a defeasible version of a classical conditional, usually the material conditional. There is however an alternative interpretation, in which a default is regarded essentially as a rule, leading from premises to conclusion. In this paper, we present a family of logics, based on this alternative interpretation. A general semantic framework under this rule-based interpretation is developed, and associated proof theories for a family of weak conditional logics is specified. Nonmonotonic inference is easily defined in these logics. Interestingly, the logics presented here are weaker than the commonly-accepted base conditional approach for defeasible reasoning. However, this approach resolves problems that have been associated with previous approaches.

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  1. School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada, V5A 1S6

    James P. Delgrande

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  1. James P. Delgrande
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Delgrande, J.P. On a rule-based interpretation of default conditionals. Ann Math Artif Intell 48, 135–167 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10472-007-9044-7

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