Title: The Logic of Partial Information
Description: This book presents the foundations of reasoning with partial information and a theory of common sense reasoning based on monotonic logic and partial structures. This theory was designed specifically for the needs of practicing computer scientists and provides easily implementable algorithms. Starting from first principles, following the logic of discovery of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos, and the semantics of programming languages, the book develops a system of reasoning with partial information, and applies it to a comprehensive study of the problem examples from the literature of common sense reasoning. Proof-theoretic and model-theoretic views are considered in the applications, as well as logical problems of theoretical physics, such as issues related to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. The book points out that customary expositions of common-sense reasoning are based on a flawed non-monotonic reasoning paradigm and that the resulting solutions proposed for major problems, such as the frame problem, are either ad hoc or inadequate. It is shown that non-monotonicity results from hiding information that should not be hidden. The essential research in common-sense reasoning has been developed in isolation from the disciplines of theoretical computer science and classical logic. This work breaks the isolation and establishes deep links. The book will be of interest to computer scientists, mathematicians, logicians, and philosophers interested in the foundations and applications of reasoning with partial information.
Subjects: Logic design, Symbolic and mathematical Logic, Computer science, Artificial intelligence, Programming languages (electronic computers), Computer algorithms, Logic, symbolic and mathematical