Showing papers on "Formal system published in 1982"

Formal Semantics and the Psychology of Meaning

Abstract: Logicians have only related language to models in various ways; psychologists have only related it to the mind; the real task, however, is to show how language relates to the world through the agency of the mind. This task is, at present, beyond the resources of Cognitive Science, but there is some chance of success by pooling the skills and knowledge of its contributing disciplines. The aim of this paper is accordingly to try to bring together formal and psychological semantics in order to determine the nature of the relations between them. In writing it, I have found myself in effect attempting to make a tunnel that would link up the heights of formal semantics, where the light has an unreal clarity, to the low lying realities of psychology, where the atmosphere is, to say the least, somewhat murky. Like a tunneler, I have tended to work first from one direction to the other, and then, when I reached an impasse, to switch round and work from the other direction. Whether or not the two halves would in the end join up — and I would, as it were, be able to shake hands with myself — was something that was unforeseeable at the outset. The project was an experiment: how could I tell what to think until I read what I wrote? Fortunately, there were a number of excellent surveys to guide me, and indeed it would be as well to begin with a brief exploration of the two areas with a view to finding some potential routes between them.

A formal method for computer design verification

Abstract: A formal computer design verification method based on Floyd's inductive assertion technique[9] is presented as an alternative or at least a supplement to simulation. The semantics of a register transfer language is defined formally. It specifies how machine variables and time change. Hardware descriptions in this language may contain assertions. The formal definition of the language can then be used for automatic verification of logical correctness and realtime performance of the design.

The Planning Process: A Formal Model

Abstract: In this paper the author attempts to show that the language of categories and functors is an appropriate language for discussions of the planning process. A category-theoretic model of the planning process is presented and research directions are also indicated.

Dyadic systems analysis

Abstract: This paper presents a formal system of dyadic cognition and communication. The formal system is a model for the two-person group, or dyad. The dyad is discussed formally as being composed of six subsystems, or state structures, which represent the states of a first-order stochastic process. Some exploratory data are presented which reveal that some axioms appear accurate, while anomalies suggest additional axioms. The implications of this formal system for future research extend across system levels from two-person systems to national systems.

WISENOM. A formal organic chemical nomenclature system

Abstract: A formal chemical nomenclature system WISENOM based on a context-free grammar and graph coding is described. The system is unique, unambiguous, easily pronounceable, encodable, and decodable for organic compounds. Being a formal system, every name is provable as a theorem or derivable as a terminal sentence by using the basic axioms and rewrite rules. The syntax in Backus-Naur form, examples of name derivations, and the corresponding derivation trees are provided. Encoding procedures to convert connectivity tables to WISENOM, parsing, and decoding are described.

A Rigorous Approach to Building Formal System Requirements

Abstract: This paper reports the author's experience in the use of formal specifications and presents a step by step approach to developing functional requirements for computer-based systems. A simple model of system requirements is introduced first. A systematic approach to developing requirements by starting with the general model and adapting it to the needs to the problem at hand is described and illustrated by means of the simple but realistic example. A basic knowledge of predicate calculus and set theory is assumed on the part of the reader. The presentation is tutorial in nature.

Essays in linguistic ontology

Abstract: Metaphysical questions relating to what exists do not seem to fade away notes Jack Kaminsky in this book, which takes as its starting point the Quinian view that we determine what exists by means of the formal systems we construct to explain the world.This starting point, Kaminsky points out, is not novel; philosophers have often tried to construct formal systems, and from these systems they have been able to deduce what can be said to exist. Contemporary formal systems are different from earlier ones, however, because they make more extensive use of the results of linguistics, logic, and mathematics studies. But these contemporary formal systems also must state eventually what their commitments to existence are, and they must be able to show their commitments to be free of paradox, ambiguity, and contradiction.Given these conditions, Kaminsky examines the difficulties inherent in the existence claims of contemporary formal language systems. To do this he uses only a minimum of the technical elements of propositional and first-order quantificational logic. He concludes: many existential commitments are relative to the formal systems of time; some commitments seem to be absolute; and some problemsthose relating to vacuous termsarise only because no distinction is made between humanly constructed objects and naturally constructed objects."

A theory of data dependencies over relational expressions

Abstract: A formal system is developed for reasoning about a class of dependencies that includes all classes considered in the literature. The usefulness of the system is illustrated by applying it to various database design problems. The system is shown to be sound and complete by adapting the analytic tableaux method of first-order predicate calculus to the class of dependencies adopted. Finally, the method is shown to be a decision procedure for the inference problem of a subclass of the dependencies considered.

Formal Axiomatic Systems and Computer-Generated Theorems.

Abstract: One of the main topics of discussion in Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer-prize-win ning book Godei, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is the concept of deriving the orems in a formal system. To give his read ers a better idea of what a formal system is, Hofstadter discusses a simple example of such a system, called the MIU system. Al though the example may not have been de signed for instructional use, to a teacher of mathematics it seems ready-made for the classroom. Indeed, the MIU system can not only provide an instructional unit on some important topics in mathematics, it can also be used to lead students to investi gate some fascinating ideas from computer science and artificial intelligence. The pres ent article will describe the MIU system and indicate a number of possible uses for it in the mathematics classroom.