Project Details
Projekt
Shared Common Grounds of Qualitative and Quantitative Rational Reasoning
Subject Area
General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
Image and Language Processing, Computer Graphics and Visualisation, Human Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous and Wearable Computing
Image and Language Processing, Computer Graphics and Visualisation, Human Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous and Wearable Computing
Term
from 2014 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263267609
Rational human reasoning makes use of both quantitative and qualitative arguments, and human beings seem to combine easily both aspects. However, although some approaches have been put forward that rely both on qualitative and quantitative structures (with Bayesian networks being probably the most prominent one), scientifically, there is still a notable gap between the communities pursuing qualitative approaches and those that make use of quantitative frameworks to capture rational reasoning. This project aims at building bridges between qualitative and quantitative paradigms on a very profound level by claiming that both (can) share common grounds. This is based on the observation that rules of any kind form basic building blocks for reasoning which become effective via inference paradigms such as modus ponens or syllogism, or via the specific techniques applied in Bayesian networks. From this starting point, building on a three-valued understanding of conditionals, we establish common grounds for rational reasoning in qualitative and quantitative frameworks by focusing on a conditional-logical approach that is capable of making basic use of propositional logic without limiting semantics to the classical binary view. This allows us to consider conditional reasoning following the same general principles in various semantical frameworks. In this context, we address research questions concerning inductive reasoning from knowledge bases, consistency and coherence, plausibility vs. probability, and human causal reasoning that have been raised in philosophy, psychology, and computer science, and establish links to approaches which have been put forward in these disciplines. The formal investigation of so-called c-representations based on Spohn's ordinal conditional functions and probabilistic reasoning on the principle of maximum entropy, as well as the empirical evaluation of their appropriateness and of the formal properties that are associated with them for rational reasoning constitute the core of this interdisciplinary project that joins researchers from psychology and computer science and collaborates intensely with researchers from philosophy. It is for the first time that these high-quality approaches to reasoning which differ in semantics but share common logical grounds are explored in such formal depth and empirical breadth. We expect significant insights both for the understanding of human rationality and the development of formal resp. normative systems for rational reasoning. The project is based upon results from the projects "Rational reasoning with conditionals and probabilities" and "Non-monotonic Reasoning" of the first funding period.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
Subproject of
SPP 1516:
New Frameworks of Rationality
