Abductive reasoning

About: Abductive reasoning is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1917 publications have been published within this topic receiving 44645 citations. The topic is also known as: abduction & abductive inference.

Belief revision in a framework for default reasoning

Abstract: We present an approach which provides a common solution to problems recently addressed in two different research areas: nonmonotonic reasoning and theory revision. We define a framework for default reasoning based on the notion of preferred maximal consistent subsets of the premises. Contrary to other formalizations of default reasoning, this framework is able to handle also unanticipated inconsistencies. This makes it possible to handle revisions of default theories by simply adding the new information. Contractions require the introduction of constraints, i.e. formulas used to determine preferred maximal consistent subsets but not used to determine the derivable formulas. Both, revisions and contractions, are totally incremental, i.e. old information is never forgotten and may be recovered after additional changes. Moreover, the order of changes is — in a certain sense — unimportant.

Abductive reasoning and the formation of scientific knowledge within nursing research

Abstract: Peirce's notion of abductive reasoning and the way this reasoning can enhance forming of scientific knowledge within nursing research is of great importance. Abduction is the first stage of inquiry within which hypotheses are invented; they are then explicated through deduction and verified through induction. In an abductive model, new ideas emerge by taking various clues and restrictions into account, and by searching and combining existing ideas in novel ways. Thus, abduction can be developed further as a 'pure' form of inference and this gives means for analysing and organizing the abductive search explicitly within the research community.

An Abductive Approach for Analysing Event-Based Requirements Specifications

Abstract: We present a logic and logic programming based approach for analysing event-based requirements specifications given in terms of a system's reaction to events and safety properties. The approach uses a variant of Kowalski and Sergot's Event Calculus to represent such specifications declaratively and an abductive reasoning mechanism for analysing safety properties. Given a system description and a safety property, the abductive mechanism is able to identify a complete set of counterexamples (if any exist) of the property in terms of symbolic "current" states and associated event-based transitions. A case study of an automobile cruise control system specified in the SCR framework is used to illustrate our approach. The technique described is implemented using existing tools for abductive logic programming.

A formal logic for abductive reasoning

Abstract: This paper presents and illustrates a formal logic for the abduction of singular hypotheses. The logic has a semantics and a dynamic proof theory that is sound and complete with respect to the semantics. The logic presupposes that, with respect to a specific application, the set of explananda and the set of possible explanantia are disjoint (but not necessarily exhaustive). Where an explanandum can be explained by different explanantia, the logic allows only for the abduction of their disjunction.

The CIFF Proof Procedure for Abductive Logic Programming with Constraints

Abstract: We introduce a new proof procedure for abductive logic programming and present two soundness results. Our procedure extends that of Fung and Kowalski by integrating abductive reasoning with constraint solving and by relaxing the restrictions on allowed inputs for which the procedure can operate correctly. An implementation of our proof procedure is available and has been applied successfully in the context of multiagent systems.