THE ALFRED KORZYBSKI MEMORIAL LECTURE AND COLLOQUIUM
Gregg Hoffmann · ETC.: A Review of General Semantics · 1995
LINKS BETWEEN and general semantics became more clear to those who attended the 1994 Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and a colloquium, Exploring Life Applications of Logic and General Semantics, Nov. 4-5, at the Yale Club in New York.Lotfi Zadeh, professor emeritus and director of the Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing at the University of California-Berkeley, gave the AK lecture, entitled Fuzzy Logic: Issues, Contentions and Perspectives.Zadeh also participated in the colloquium, which included Bruce and Susan Presby Kodish, longtime general semanticists and authors of the recent book, Drive Yourself Sane, Alan Meyrowitz, director of the Navy Center for Artificial Intelligence at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C., and general semanticists Dorothy Berleth and Ralph Wesselmann.Fuzzy logic is based on several premises, which general semanticists might label non-Aristotelian and multi-valued. In particular contrast to classical logical systems, the inferential processes in fuzzy logic are computational rather than symbolic, Zadeh said. The logic is not based in rigid, either-or propositions, but considers variables and their constraints and is approximate reasoning rather than exact.While general semanticists have long espoused the principle of uncertainty and talked about degrees of likelihood, etc., fuzzy logic also calls for some alterations in classic scientific thinking.There is a long-standing tradition in science--the tradition of according much more respect to theories which are quantitative, formal, and precise than to those which are qualitative, informal, and approximate in nature, Zadeh said.In recent years, however, the validity of this tradition has been called into question. More specifically, what has become increasingly obvious is that many of the basic problems relating to the conception and design of intelligent systems do not lend themselves to solution within the framework of classical logic and probability theory.To address such problems we frequently have no choice but to accept solutions which are lacking precision. Furthermore, even when precise solutions can be obtained, their cost is generally higher than that of solutions which are approximate and yet yield results which fall within the range of acceptability.Fuzzy logic has been applied in the design of computer software, cameras, automobiles, vacuum cleaners, and many other Zadeh noted. Japanese manufacturers have especially embraced it in designing products that can adapt to changing conditions and function within a range of factors.Currently, many of the visible applications of fuzzy logic are in the realm of consumer products, Zadeh said. But, what is potentially more important is the impact of fuzzy logic on the basic sciences, especially in the domains of mathematical, physical and cognitive sciences.Zadeh said two paradigm shifts are required if fuzzy logic is to be accepted: 1) a crisp theory is fuzzified by replacing crisp sets by fuzzy sets, and 2) the concept of a theorem is broadened, leading to the concept of a fuzzy theorem.What is gained through fuzzification is greater generality, higher expressive power, an enhanced ability to model real-world problems and, most importantly, a methodology for exploiting the tolerance for imprecision--a methodology which serves to achieve tractability, robustness, and lower solution cost, Zadeh said of the first paradigm shift. …