A review of temporal logics

Abstract

AbstractA series of temporal reasoning tasks are identified which motivate the consideration and application of temporal logics in artificial intelligence. There follows a discussion of the broad issues involved in modelling time and constructing a temporal logic. The paper then presents a detailed review of the major approaches to temporal logics: first-order logic approaches, modal temporal logics and reified temporal logics. The review considers the most significant exemplars within the various approaches, including logics due to Russell, Hayes and McCarthy, Prior, McDermott, Allen, Kowalski and Sergot. The logics are compared and contrasted, particularly in their treatments of change and action, the roles they seek to fulfil and the underlying models of time on which they rest. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of the problem of granularity—a problem of considerable significance in temporal reasoning, which has yet to be satisfactorily treated in a temporal logic.