Preferential Semantics for Causal Systems

In the present work we examine the causal theory of actions put forward by McCain and Turner [Mc- Cain and Turner, 1995] for determining ramifications. Our principal aim is to provide a characterisation of this causal theory of actions in terms of a Shoham-like preferential semantics [Shoham, 19881. This would have a twofold advantage: it would place McCain and Turner's theory in perspective, allowing a comparison with other logics of action; and, it would allow us to glean further insights into the nature of causality underlying their work. We begin by showing that our aim is not attainable by a preferential mechanism alone. At this point we do not abandon preferential semantics altogether but augment it in order to arrive at the desired result. We draw f he following moral which is at the heart of our paper: two components — minimal change under a preferential structure and causality — are required to provide a concise solution to the frame and ramification problems.

Authors

• Pavlos Peppas
• Maurice Pagnucco School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
• Mikhail Prokopenko
• Norman Y. Foo
• Abhaya Nayak

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