Abstract

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.

Highlights

  • Rule-based interactions such as dialogues or arguments are ubiquitous and diverse; they are the basic method of communication between agents

  • We argue that obligationes are best modeled by formal dialogue systems (FDSs) because of their intrinsic dialogical nature

  • We identify our set of agents with their roles, i.e., our set of agents is A 1⁄4 fOpp; Resg; and our topic language and commitment language is the language of Dynamic Epistemic Logic LDEL introduced in the previous section

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Summary

Introduction

Rule-based interactions such as dialogues or arguments are ubiquitous and diverse; they are the basic method of communication between agents Such interactions are modeled in artificial intelligence and computer science by formal dialogue systems (FDSs) and dialogue games In Hamblin (1970), Hamblin locates part of the motivation for his development of formal argumentation in historical formal dialogue systems, that is, dialogical or disputational settings where explicit rules are given governing the actions of the participants. One such system of natural argumentation that he considers in particular is the medieval theory of obligationes, developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Medieval Theories of obligationes
Previous Work on obligationes
Formal Dialogue Systems
The Underlying Logic
The Protocol
Comparison with Other Dialogue Systems
Conclusion
Full Text
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