S5 knowledge without partitions

DOI10.1007/S11229-009-9469-0MaRDI QIDQ2268777zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Dov Samet

Publication date 9 March 2010

Published in Synthese (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-009-9469-0

zbMATH Keywords

algebraic semanticsepistemic logicgeneral frame semanticsmodal logicpartition structurerelational semanticsS5set algebra with an operator

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Logics of knowledge and belief (including belief change) (03B42) Modal logic (including the logic of norms) (03B45) Boolean algebras with additional operations (diagonalizable algebras, etc.) (06E25)

Review text

The author first introduces the notions of a set algebra with an operator (SAO, for short), a partitional SAO and an S5 knowledge-SAO. An SAO is a triplet \((\Omega, A,\text{K})\), where \(A\) is an algebra of subsets of a given set \(\Omega\) (the set of states) and K an operator (the knowledge operator), which is a function from \(A\) into \(A\). A partitional SAO is an SAO for which there exists a partition of \(\Omega\) fulfilling a certain condition linked to K. An S5 knowledge-SAO is an SAO that satisfies three relations mirroring conditions usually associated to the knowledge operator, viz.: the truth, conjunction and negative introspection conditions. The author points out that every partitional SAO is an S5 knowledge-SAO. Next, he proves that a certain condition is necessary and sufficient for an S5 knowledge-SAO to be partitional. From this, he shows that an S5 knowledge-SAO is partitional when the knowledge operator is defined on the power set or when the state space is finite. In addition, he constructs two examples of S5 knowledge-SAOs (one with a countable state space and another with an uncountable state space) that are not partitional. Finally, the author examines partition structures from the perspective of modal logics and concludes that modal logic S5 characterizes partition structures when the semantics is confined to frames or general frames. If the semantics is that of set algebras with an operator, no logic can characterize partition structures.

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Cites work

• Epistemology without knowledge and without belief
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3164639 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1234441 (Why is no real title available?)
• Interactive epistemology. I: Knowledge
• Interactive epistemology. II: Probability
• Modal logic
• Tools and techniques in modal logic

Cited in

(5)

• Epistemic foundations for set-algebraic representations of knowledge
• Computing distributed knowledge as the greatest lower bound of knowledge
• Interpersonal independence of knowledge and belief
• The quantum monadology
• Agreeing to disagree: the non-probabilistic case

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