Reasoning about actions and change in argumentation

Abstract

This paper studies how logic-based reasoning about actions and change (RAC) with its problems of temporal projection and qualification can be formalised in terms of argumentation. In particular, we extend earlier work of translating the language for RAC into a logic-based argumentation framework, by introducing new types of arguments for (i) backward persistence and (ii) persistence from observations. This forms a conservative extension of the language that gives a semantic meaning to domains that cannot be interpreted under thus addressing further the frame and (exogenous) qualification problems. As such the paper strengthens the link between argumentation theory and RAC in artificial intelligence.

Keywords:

• argumentation
• reasoning about actions
• narratives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. PFP resp. stands for Positive Forward resp. Backward Persistence, NFP resp. stands for Negative Forward resp. Backward Persistence, resp. stands for Positive Forward resp. Backward Generation, resp. stands for Negative Forward resp. Backward Generation, PO resp. stands for Positive resp. Negative Observation and finally PA resp. stands for Positive resp. Negative Assumption.

2. if and only if and there does not exist such that .

3. An initiation or termination point for a fluent f in an admissible extension E is defined as in Definition 2.2 where now the preconditions C of the c-proposition are satisfied at T in E when the corresponding HoldsAT conclusions are derived by E.

4. For simplicity of presentation we are assuming that there can only be one generating (initiating or terminating) action of a given fluent at any time point.

5. When we have the other case of ‘L holds-at ’ the extended domain will have admissible extensions with an exogenous qualification of persistence of L in .

6. Note that can be both an initiation and a termination point for f in M but any given model the fluent f will have either the value true or false (see case (iv)).