scholarly journals Validating Formal Semantics by Property-Based Cross-Testing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Bereczky ◽  
Dániel Horpácsi ◽  
Judit K?szegi ◽  
Soma Szeier ◽  
Simon Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Formal Semantics

Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy Volume 3

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Experimental Philosophy ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Methodological Approaches

The papers collected in this third volume of Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy illustrate the ways in which the field continues to broaden, taking on new methodological approaches and interacting with substantive theories from an ever wider array of disciplines. As the papers themselves clearly show, some recent research in experimental philosophy is going more deeply into well-established questions in the field, but at the same time, other strands of research are exploring issues that hardly appeared at all in the field even a few years ago. Thus, we see the introduction of new empirical and statistical methods (network analysis), new theoretical approaches (formal semantics), and the development of entirely new interdisciplinary connections (in the emerging field of “experimental jurisprudence”)

The Semantics of Evidentials

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Propositional Content ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Truth Conditional ◽  
The Common ◽  
Issue Content

This book gives a compositional, truth‐conditional, crosslinguistic semantics for evidentials set in a theory of the semantics for sentential mood. Central to this semantics is a proposal about a distinction between what propositional content is at‐issue, roughly primary or proffered, and what content is not‐at‐issue. Evidentials contribute not‐at‐issue content, more specifically what I will call a not‐at‐issue restriction. In addition, evidentials can affect the level of commitment a sentence makes to the main proposition, contributed by sentential mood. Building on recent work in the formal semantics of evidentials and related phenomena, the proposed semantics does not appeal to separate dimensions of illocutionary meaning. Instead, I argue that all sentences make three contributions: at‐issue content, not‐at‐issue content, and an illocutionary relation. At‐issue content is presented, made available for subsequent anaphora, but is not directly added to the common ground. Not‐at‐issue content directly updates the common ground. The illocutionary relation uses the at‐issue content to impose structure on the common ground, which, depending on the clause type (e.g., declarative, interrogative), can trigger further updates. Empirical support for this proposal comes from Cheyenne (Algonquian, primary data from the author’s fieldwork), English, and a wide variety of languages that have been discussed in the literature on evidentials.

scholarly journals Modal Structuralism with Theoretical Terms

Erkenntnis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Andreas ◽  
Georg Schiemer
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Mathematics ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Peano Arithmetic ◽  
Theoretical Terms ◽  
Structural Interpretation ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Structuralist Approach ◽  
Modal Semantics ◽  
Oxford University Press

AbstractIn this paper, we aim to explore connections between a Carnapian semantics of theoretical terms and an eliminative structuralist approach in the philosophy of mathematics. Specifically, we will interpret the language of Peano arithmetic by applying the modal semantics of theoretical terms introduced in Andreas (Synthese 174(3):367–383, 2010). We will thereby show that the application to Peano arithmetic yields a formal semantics of universal structuralism, i.e., the view that ordinary mathematical statements in arithmetic express general claims about all admissible interpretations of the Peano axioms. Moreover, we compare this application with the modal structuralism by Hellman (Mathematics without numbers: towards a modal-structural interpretation. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1989), arguing that it provides us with an easier epistemology of statements in arithmetic.

Default Logic Models of Certain Inheritance Systems with Exceptions

1993 ◽  
Vol 18 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 129-149
Author(s):  
Serge Garlatti
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Sufficient Conditions ◽  
Nonmonotonic Reasoning ◽  
Default Logic ◽  
Representation Systems ◽  
The Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
Structure Of Knowledge ◽  
Made In

Representation systems based on inheritance networks are founded on the hierarchical structure of knowledge. Such representation is composed of a set of objects and a set of is-a links between nodes. Objects are generally defined by means of a set of properties. An inheritance mechanism enables us to share properties across the hierarchy, called an inheritance graph. It is often difficult, even impossible to define classes by means of a set of necessary and sufficient conditions. For this reason, exceptions must be allowed and they induce nonmonotonic reasoning. Many researchers have used default logic to give them formal semantics and to define sound inferences. In this paper, we propose a survey of the different models of nonmonotonic inheritance systems by means of default logic. A comparison between default theories and inheritance mechanisms is made. In conclusion, the ability of default logic to take some inheritance mechanisms into account is discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document