Deciding Consistency of Databases Containing Defeasible and Strict Information
Abstract
We propose a norm of consistency for a mixed set of defeasible and strict sentences, based on a probabilistic semantics. This norm establishes a clear distinction between knowledge bases depicting exceptions and those containing outright contradictions. We then define a notion of entailment based also on probabilistic considerations and provide a characterization of the relation between consistency and entailment. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for consistency, and provide a simple decision procedure for testing consistency and deciding whether a sentence is entailed by a database. Finally, it is shown that if al1 sentences are Horn clauses, consistency and entailment can be tested in polynomial time.
Cite
Text
Goldszmidt and Pearl. "Deciding Consistency of Databases Containing Defeasible and Strict Information." Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence, 1989.Markdown
[Goldszmidt and Pearl. "Deciding Consistency of Databases Containing Defeasible and Strict Information." Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence, 1989.](https://mlanthology.org/uai/1989/goldszmidt1989uai-deciding/)BibTeX
@inproceedings{goldszmidt1989uai-deciding,
title = {{Deciding Consistency of Databases Containing Defeasible and Strict Information}},
author = {Goldszmidt, Moises and Pearl, Judea},
booktitle = {Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence},
year = {1989},
url = {https://mlanthology.org/uai/1989/goldszmidt1989uai-deciding/}
}