Medieval Disputationes de obligationibus as Formal Dialogue Systems
Sara L. Uckelman · Argumentation · 2012
Formal dialogue systems model rule-based interaction between agents and as such have multiple applications in multi-agent systems and AI more generally. Their conceptual roots are in formal theories of natural argumentation, of which Hamblin’s formal systems of argumentation in Hamblin (Fallacies. Methuen, London, 1970 , Theoria 37:130–135, 1971 ) are some of the earliest examples. Hamblin cites the medieval theory of obligationes as inspiration for his development of formal argumentation. In an obligatio , two agents, the Opponent and the Respondent, engage in an alternating-move dialogue, where the Respondent’s actions are governed by certain rules, and the goal of the dialogue is establishing the consistency of a proposition. We implement obligationes in the formal dialogue system framework of Prakken (Knowl Eng Rev 21(2):163–188, 2006 ) using Dynamic Epistemic Logic (van Ditmarsch et al. in Dynamic epistemic logic , Synthese Library Series. Springer, Berlin, 2007 ). The result is a new type of inter-agent dialogue, for consistency-checking , and analyzing obligationes in this way also sheds light on interpretational and historical questions concerning their use and purpose in medieval academia.