Tommaso Flaminio

Tommaso Flaminio, Sara Ugolini

We provide a new foundational approach to the generalization of terms up to equational theories. We interpret generalization problems in a universal-algebraic setting making a key use of projective and exact algebras in the variety associated to the considered equational theory. We prove that the generality poset of a problem and its type (i.e., the cardinality of a complete set of least general solutions) can be studied in this algebraic setting. Moreover, we identify a class of varieties where the study of the generality poset can be fully reduced to the study of the congruence lattice of the 1-generated free algebra. We apply our results to varieties of algebras and to (algebraizable) logics. In particular we obtain several examples of unitary type: abelian groups; commutative monoids and commutative semigroups; all varieties whose 1-generated free algebra is trivial, e.g., lattices, semilattices, varieties without constants whose operations are idempotent; Boolean algebras, Kleene algebras, and Gödel algebras, which are the equivalent algebraic semantics of, respectively, classical, 3-valued Kleene, and Gödel-Dummett logic. Finally, we prove that the variety of MV-algebras, the equivalent algebraic semantics of Lukasiewicz logic, has nullary type.

Tommaso Flaminio, Katsumi Inoue, Daniil Kozhemiachenko

We study the problem of explaining observations about the probabilities of events, such as "it rains $20\%$ of the time", "rain and snow are equally likely", etc. We explain these statements with a probability distribution or a statement about probabilities of (other) events that are consistent with our knowledge and entail the observation. We formalise this problem in a fuzzy probabilistic logic $\mathsf{FP}$. We define and motivate the notions of abduction problems and their solutions. Our main technical contribution is a comprehensive study of the complexity of solution recognition and existence for a given abduction problem in $\mathsf{FP}$ for the case of full language and its disjunctive-clause fragments. We also obtain a translation of classical probabilistic abduction (finding the most likely explanation of a given event) to $\mathsf{FP}$.

Tommaso Flaminio, Lluis Godo, Ramón Pino Pérez et al.

Within the formal setting of the Lockean thesis, an agent belief set is defined in terms of degrees of confidence and these are described in probabilistic terms. This approach is of established interest, notwithstanding some limitations that make its use troublesome in some contexts, like, for instance, in belief change theory. Precisely, Lockean belief sets are not generally closed under (classical) logical deduction. The aim of the present paper is twofold: on one side we provide two characterizations of those belief sets that are closed under classical logic deduction, and on the other we propose an approach to probabilistic update that allows us for a minimal revision of those beliefs, i.e., a revision obtained by making the fewest possible changes to the existing belief set while still accommodating the new information. In particular, we show how we can deductively close a belief set via a minimal revision.

Tommaso Flaminio, Lluis Godo, Gluliano Rosella

Methods for probability updating, of which Bayesian conditionalization is the most well-known and widely used, are modeling tools that aim to represent the process of modifying an initial epistemic state, typically represented by a prior probability function P, which is adjusted in light of new information. Notably, updating methods and conditional sentences seem to intuitively share a deep connection, as is evident in the case of conditionalization. The present work contributes to this line of research and aims at shedding new light on the relationship between updating methods and conditional connectives. Departing from previous literature that often focused on a specific type of conditional or a particular updating method, our goal is to prove general results concerning the connection between conditionals and their probabilities. This will allow us to characterize the probabilities of certain conditional connectives and to understand what class of updating procedures can be represented using specific conditional connectives. Broadly, we adopt a general perspective that encompasses a large class of conditionals and a wide range of updating methods, enabling us to prove some general results concerning their interrelation.

Tommaso Flaminio, Lluis Godo, Paula Menchón et al.

The present paper is devoted to study the effect of connected and disconnected rotations of Gödel algebras with operators grounded on directly indecomposable structures. The structures resulting from this construction we will present are nilpotent minimum (with or without negation fixpoint, depending on whether the rotation is connected or disconnected) with special modal operators defined on a directly indecomposable algebra. In this paper we will present a (quasi-)equational definition of these latter structures. Our main results show that directly indecomposable nilpotent minimum algebras (with or without negation fixpoint) with modal operators are fully characterized as connected and disconnected rotations of directly indecomposable Gödel algebras endowed with modal operators.

Stefano Aguzzoli, Pietro Codara, Tommaso Flaminio et al.

In this paper we present, by way of case studies, a proof of concept, based on a prototype working on a automotive data set, aimed at showing the potential usefulness of using formulas of Łukasiewicz propositional logic to query databases in a fuzzy way. Our approach distinguishes itself for its stress on the purely linguistic, contraposed with numeric, formulations of queries. Our queries are expressed in the pure language of logic, and when we use (integer) numbers, these stand for shortenings of formulas on the syntactic level, and serve as linguistic hedges on the semantic one. Our case-study queries aim first at showing that each numeric-threshold fuzzy query is simulated by a Łukasiewicz formula. Then they focus on the expressing power of Łukasiewicz logic which easily allows for updating queries by clauses and for modifying them through a potentially infinite variety of linguistic hedges implemented with a uniform syntactic mechanism. Finally we shall hint how, already at propositional level, Łukasiewicz natural semantics enjoys a degree of reflection, allowing to write syntactically simple queries that semantically work as meta-queries weighing the contribution of simpler ones.