A Manual of Intensional Logic

Johan van Benthem9780937073308, 093707330X, 093707330X-:, 0937073296

Intensional logic is the technical study of such “intensional” phenomena in human reasoning as modality, knowledge, or flow of time. These all require a richer semantic picture than standard truth values in one static environment. Such a picture is provided by so-called “possible worlds semantics,” a paradigm which is surveyed in this book, both as to its external sources of motivation and as to the internal dynamics of the resulting program. In particular, ^IManual of Intensional Logic^R presents the major “classical” topics, including modal logic, tense logic, and conditional logic, all of which illustrate motivations coming from philosophy and linguistics. The Book also discusses recent computational applications in computer science and AI. Finally, ^IManual of Intensional Logic^R takes up recent developments in the study of language and information making themselves felt in the area. The Book examines the role of partial information–with illustrations drawn from different branches of Intensional Logic–and various influences stemming from current theories of the semantics of natural language, involving generalized quantifiers and theories of types.