We propose a formalism for specifying revisions in knowledge bases and belief sets. This formalism extends logic programming with stable model semantics. Main objects of our system are revision programs consisting of revision rules. A revision rule expresses a speciication of change or a constraint on a knowledge base. There are two types of revision rules. In-rules require that an element be i...

Reconsideration is a belief change operation that re-optimizes a finite belief base following a series of belief change operations—provided all base beliefs have a linear credibility ordering. This paper shows that linearity is not required for reconsideration to improve and possibly optimize a belief base.

This paper aims at proposing a framework for modelling the safety of an engineering system with various types of uncertainties using a fuzzy rule-based evidential reasoning (FURBER) approach. In the framework, parameters used to define the safety level, including failure rate, failure consequence severity and failure consequence probability, are described using fuzzy linguistic variables; a fuz...

This study proposes a modified version of cultural algorithms (CAs) which benefits from rule-based system for influence function. This rule-based system selects and applies the suitable knowledge source according to the distribution of the solutions. This is important to use appropriate influence function to apply to a specific individual, regarding to its role in the search process. This rule ...

Optimized Recovery (OR) adds belief base optimization to the traditional Recovery postulate—improving Recovery adherence without sacrificing adherence to the more accepted postulates or to the foundations approach. Reconsideration and belief liberation systems both optimize a knowledge base through consolidation of a chain of base beliefs; and recovered base beliefs are returned to the base. Th...

The AGM paradigm of belief change studies the dynamics of belief states in light of new information. Finding, or even approximating, those beliefs that are dependent on or relevant to a change is valuable because, for example, it can narrow the set of beliefs considered during belief change operations. A strong intuition in this area is captured by Gärdenfors’s preservation criterion (GPC), whi...

The Recovery postulate for contraction says that any beliefs lost due to the contraction of some belief p should return if p is immediately re-asserted. Recovery holds for logically closed sets of beliefs, but it does not hold for belief bases (sets of beliefs that are not logically closed). This paper discusses the Recovery aspect of the belief base optimizing operation of reconsideration (whi...

I introduce an account of when a rule normatively sus tains a practice. My basic proposal is that a rule normatively sustains a practice when the value achieved by following the rule ex plains why agents continue following that rule, thus establishing and sustaining a pattern of activity. I apply this model to practices of belief management and identify a substantive normative connection betwee...