Inheritance reasoning and head-driven phrase structure grammar
Carl M. Vogel · Summit (Simon Fraser University) · 1990
Inheritance networks are a type of semantic network which represent both strict (classical implication) and defeasible (non-classical) relationships among entities. We present an established approach to defeasible reasoning which defines inference in terms of the construction of paths through a network. Much of literature on inheritance is concerned with specifying the most "intuitive" system of path construction. However, when considering a fundamental feature of these approaches---the status accorded to redundant links---we find that topological considerations espoused in the literature are insufficient for determining the valid inferences of a network. This implies that the "intuitiveness" of a particular method depends upon the domain being represented. Though Touretzky has demonstrated that it is unsound in some cases, the path-preference algorithm known as shortest path reasoning, is actually the most intuitive algorithm to use when reasoning about the inheritance network which r...