Methods for probability updating, of which Bayesian conditionalization is the most well-known and widely used, are modeling tools that aim to represent the process of modifying an initial epistemic state, typically represented by a prior probability function P, which is adjusted in light of new information. Notably, updating methods and conditional sentences seem to intuitively share a deep connection, as is evident in the case of conditionalization. The present work contributes to this line of research and aims at shedding new light on the relationship between updating methods and conditional connectives. Departing from previous literature that often focused on a specific type of conditional or a particular updating method, our goal is to prove general results concerning the connection between conditionals and their probabilities. This will allow us to characterize the probabilities of certain conditional connectives and to understand what class of updating procedures can be represented using specific conditional connectives. Broadly, we adopt a general perspective that encompasses a large class of conditionals and a wide range of updating methods, enabling us to prove some general results concerning their interrelation.

We consider the problem of implementing deontic modal logic. We show how (deontic) modal operators can be expressed elegantly using default negation (negation-as-failure) and strong negation present in answer set programming (ASP). We propose using global constraints of ASP to represent obligations and impermissibilities of deontic modal logic. We show that our proposed representation results in the various paradoxes of deontic modal logic being elegantly resolved.

This article develops a novel framework for modal logic based on the idea of stratified actualization, rather than the classical model of global possible worlds. Traditional Kripke semantics treat modal operators as quantification over fully determinate alternatives, neglecting the local, dynamic, and often asymmetric nature of actualization processes. We propose a system Stratified Actualization Logic (SAL) in which modalities are indexed by levels of ontological stability, interpreted as admissibility regimes. Each modality operates over a structured layer of possibility, grounded in the internal coherence of transitions between layers. We formally define the syntax and semantics of SAL, introduce its axioms, and prove soundness and completeness. Applications are discussed in connection with temporal becoming, quantum decoherence domains, and modal metaphysics. The result is a logic that captures the ontological structure of actualization without recourse to abstract possible worlds, offering a stratified alternative to standard modal realism.

Recently, description logic LE-ALC was introduced for reasoning in the semantic environment of enriched formal contexts, and a polynomial-time tableaux algorithm was developed to check the consistency of knowledge bases with acyclic TBoxes. In this work, we introduce a fuzzy generalization of LE-ALC called LE-FALC which provides a description logic counterpart of many-valued normal non-distributive logic a.k.a. many-valued LE-logic. This description logic can be used to represent and reason about knowledge in the formal framework of fuzzy formal contexts and fuzzy formal concepts. We provide a tableaux algorithm that provides a complete and sound polynomial-time decision procedure to check the consistency of LE-FALC ABoxes. As a result, we also obtain an exponential-time decision procedure for checking the consistency of LE-FALC with acyclic TBoxes by unraveling.

The KLM approach to defeasible reasoning introduces a weakened form of implication into classical logic. This allows one to incorporate exceptions to general rules into a logical system, and for old conclusions to be withdrawn upon learning new contradictory information. Standpoint logics are a group of logics, introduced to the field of Knowledge Representation in the last 5 years, which allow for multiple viewpoints to be integrated into the same ontology, even when certain viewpoints may hold contradicting beliefs. In this paper, we aim to integrate standpoints into KLM propositional logic in a restricted setting. We introduce the logical system of Defeasible Restricted Standpoint Logic (DRSL) and define its syntax and semantics. Specifically, we integrate ranked interpretations and standpoint structures, which provide the semantics for propositional KLM and propositional standpoint logic respectively, in order to introduce ranked standpoint structures for DRSL. Moreover, we extend the non-monotonic entailment relation of rational closure from the propositional KLM case to the DRSL case. The main contribution of this paper is to characterize rational closure for DRSL both algorithmically and semantically, showing that rational closure can be characterized through a single representative ranked standpoint structure. Finally, we conclude that the semantic and algorithmic characterizations of rational closure are equivalent, and that entailment-checking for DRSL under rational closure is in the same complexity class as entailment-checking for propositional KLM.

We introduce Temporal Ensemble Logic (TEL), a monadic, first-order modal logic for linear-time temporal reasoning. TEL includes primitive temporal constructs such as ``always up to $t$ time later'' ($\Box_t$), ``sometimes before $t$ time in the future'' ($\Diamond_t$), and ``$t$-time later'' $\varphi_t$. TEL has been motivated from the requirement for rigor and reproducibility for cohort specification and discovery in clinical and population health research, to fill a gap in formalizing temporal reasoning in biomedicine. Existing logical frameworks such as linear temporal logic are too restrictive to express temporal and sequential properties in biomedicine, or too permissive in semantic constructs, such as in Halpern-Shoham logic, to serve this purpose. In this paper, we first introduce TEL in a general set up, with discrete and dense time as special cases. We then focus on the theoretical development of discrete TEL on the temporal domain of positive integers $\mathbb{N}^+$, denoted as ${\rm TEL}_{\mathbb{N}^+}$. ${\rm TEL}_{\mathbb{N}^+}$ is strictly more expressive than the standard monadic second order logic, characterized by B\"{u}chi automata. We present its formal semantics, a proof system, and provide a proof for the undecidability of the satisfiability of ${\rm TEL}_{\mathbb{N}^+}$. We also include initial results on expressiveness and decidability fragments for ${\rm TEL}_{\mathbb{N}^+}$, followed by application outlook and discussions.

The present paper is devoted to study the effect of connected and disconnected rotations of G\"odel algebras with operators grounded on directly indecomposable structures. The structures resulting from this construction we will present are nilpotent minimum (with or without negation fixpoint, depending on whether the rotation is connected or disconnected) with special modal operators defined on a directly indecomposable algebra. In this paper we will present a (quasi-)equational definition of these latter structures. Our main results show that directly indecomposable nilpotent minimum algebras (with or without negation fixpoint) with modal operators are fully characterized as connected and disconnected rotations of directly indecomposable G\"odel algebras endowed with modal operators.

Modal logic S5 has attracted significant attention and has led to several practical applications, owing to its simplified approach to dealing with nesting modal operators. Efficient implementations for evaluating satisfiability of S5 formulas commonly rely on Skolemisation to convert them into propositional logic formulas, essentially by introducing copies of propositional atoms for each set of interpretations (possible worlds). This approach is simple, but often results into large formulas that are too difficult to process, and therefore more parsimonious constructions are required. In this work, we propose to use Answer Set Programming for implementing such constructions, and in particular for identifying the propositional atoms that are relevant in every world by means of a reachability relation. The proposed encodings are designed to take advantage of other properties such as entailment relations of subformulas rooted by modal operators. An empirical assessment of the proposed encodings shows that the reachability relation is very effective and leads to comparable performance to a state-of-the-art S5 solver based on SAT, while entailment relations are possibly too expensive to reason about and may result in overhead. This paper is under consideration for acceptance in TPLP.

We propose an epistemic approach to formalizing statistical properties of machine learning. Specifically, we introduce a formal model for supervised learning based on a Kripke model where each possible world corresponds to a possible dataset and modal operators are interpreted as transformation and testing on datasets. Then we formalize various notions of the classification performance, robustness, and fairness of statistical classifiers by using our extension of statistical epistemic logic (StatEL). In this formalization, we show relationships among properties of classifiers, and relevance between classification performance and robustness. As far as we know, this is the first work that uses epistemic models and logical formulas to express statistical properties of machine learning, and would be a starting point to develop theories of formal specification of machine learning.

Separate from the two main camps in ethics, deontological ethics (D) and consequentialism (C), there is virtue ethics (V). While there has been extensive formal, computational, and mathematical work done on deontological ethics and consequentialism, there has been very little or almost no work done in formalizing and making rigorous virtue ethics. Proponents of V might claim that it is not feasible to do so given V's emphasis on character and traits, rather than individual actions or consequencens. From the perspective of machine and robot ethics, this is not satisfactory. If V is to be considered to be on equal footing with D and C for the purpose of building morally competent machines, we need to start with formalizing parts of virtue ethics.