•  33
    Two-sided Sequent Calculi for FDE-like Four-valued Logics
    Journal of Philosophical Logic 52 (2): 495-518. 2023.
    We present a method that generates two-sided sequent calculi for four-valued logics like "first degree entailment" (FDE). (We say that a logic is FDE-like if it has finitely many operators of finite arity, including negation, and if all of its operators are truth-functional over the four truth-values 'none', 'false', 'true', and 'both', where 'true' and 'both' are designated.) First, we show that for every n-ary operator * every truth table entry f*(x1,...,xn) = y can be characterized in terms o…Read more
  •  86
    An impossibility result on methodological individualism
    Philosophical Studies 178 (12): 4165-4185. 2021.
    Methodological individualists often claim that any social phenomenon can ultimately be explained in terms of the actions and interactions of individuals. Any Nagelian version of methodological individualism requires that there be bridge laws that translate social statements into individualistic ones. We show that Nagelian individualism can be put to logical scrutiny by making the relevant social and individualistic languages fully explicit and mathematically precise. In particular, we prove that…Read more
  •  54
    We use a deontic logic of collective agency to study reducibility questions about collective agency and collective obligations. The logic that is at the basis of our study is a multi-modal logic in the tradition of *stit* logics of agency. Our full formal language has constants for collective and individual deontic admissibility, modalities for collective and individual agency, and modalities for collective and individual obligations. We classify its twenty-seven sublanguages in terms of their e…Read more
  •  160
    The irreducibility of collective obligations
    Philosophical Studies 177 (4): 1085-1109. 2020.
    Individualists claim that collective obligations are reducible to the individual obligations of the collective’s members. Collectivists deny this. We set out to discover who is right by way of a deontic logic of collective action that models collective actions, abilities, obligations, and their interrelations. On the basis of our formal analysis, we argue that when assessing the obligations of an individual agent, we need to distinguish individual obligations from member obligations. If a collec…Read more
  •  139
    A natural deduction system for first degree entailment
    Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 40 (2): 258-272. 1999.
    This paper is concerned with a natural deduction system for First Degree Entailment (FDE). First, we exhibit a brief history of FDE and of combined systems whose underlying idea is used in developing the natural deduction system. Then, after presenting the language and a semantics of FDE, we develop a natural deduction system for FDE. We then prove soundness and completeness of the system with respect to the semantics. The system neatly represents the four-valued semantics for FDE.
  •  862
    Katz’s revisability paradox dissolved
    Australasian Journal of Philosophy 91 (4): 771-784. 2013.
    Quine's holistic empiricist account of scientific inquiry can be characterized by three constitutive principles: *noncontradiction*, *universal revisability* and *pragmatic ordering*. We show that these constitutive principles cannot be regarded as statements within a holistic empiricist's scientific theory of the world. This claim is a corollary of our refutation of Katz's [1998, 2002] argument that holistic empiricism suffers from what he calls the Revisability Paradox. According to Katz, Quin…Read more
  •  576
    Belief Dynamics: (Epistemo)logical Investigations
    Dissertation, University of Amsterdam. 2001.
    C.S. Peirce's and Isaac Levi's accounts of the belief-doubt-belief model are discussed and evaluated. It is argued that the contemporary study of belief change has metamorphosed into a branch of philosophical logic where empirical considerations have become obsolete. A case is made for reformulations of belief change systems that do allow for empirical tests. Last, a belief change system is presented that (1) uses finite representations of information, (2) can adequately deal with inconsistencie…Read more
  •  106
    Collective obligations, group plans and individual actions
    with Hein Duijf
    Economics and Philosophy 33 (2): 187-214. 2017.
    If group members aim to fulfill a collective obligation, they must act in such a way that the composition of their individual actions amounts to a group action that fulfills the collective obligation. We study a strong sense of joint action in which the members of a group design and then publicly adopt a group plan that coordinates the individual actions of the group members. We characterize the conditions under which a group plan successfully coordinates the group members' individual actions, a…Read more
  •  26
    Waarheid als limiet van onderzoek: de ontoereikendheid van Charles Sanders Peirce' waarheidsopvatting
    Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 93 (2): 73-92. 2001.
    In order to come to grips with Peirce's definition of truth as the ideal limit of inquiry, I give a succinct exposition of Peirce's theory of inquiry and his philosophical logic, paying attention to several types of reasoning and their interrelations. Subsequently, the arguments of a contemporary apologist of Peirce's notion of truth, C.J. Misak, are subjected to a scrutiny and found to be insufficient, as the principle of bivalence is defended improperly and, as a Peircean definition of truth, …Read more
  •  179
    Correspondence analysis for strong three-valued logic
    Logical Investigations 20 255-268. 2014.
    I apply Kooi and Tamminga's (2012) idea of correspondence analysis for many-valued logics to strong three-valued logic (K3). First, I characterize each possible single entry in the truth-table of a unary or a binary truth-functional operator that could be added to K3 by a basic inference scheme. Second, I define a class of natural deduction systems on the basis of these characterizing basic inference schemes and a natural deduction system for K3. Third, I show that each of the resulting natural …Read more
  •  908
    Logics of rejection: two systems of natural deduction
    Logique Et Analyse 146 169-208. 1994.
    This paper presents two systems of natural deduction for the rejection of non-tautologies of classical propositional logic. The first system is sound and complete with respect to the body of all non-tautologies, the second system is sound and complete with respect to the body of all contradictions. The second system is a subsystem of the first. Starting with Jan Łukasiewicz's work, we describe the historical development of theories of rejection for classical propositional logic. Subsequently, we…Read more
  •  79
    Introspection and change in Carnap’s logical behaviourism
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 36 (4): 650-667. 2005.
    In the 1930s, Carnap set out to incorporate psychology into the unity of science, by showing that all cognitively meaningful sentences of psychology can be translated into the language of physics. I will argue that Carnap, relying on his notion of protocol languages, defends a physicalistic philosophy of psychology that shows due appreciation to 'introspection' as a strictly subjective, but reliable way to verify sentences about one’s own mind. Second, I will point out that Carnap’s philosophy o…Read more
  •  2
    *Wetenschapsfilosofie* door Leon Horsten, Igor Douven en Erik Weber (review)
    with Jan-Willem Romeijn
    Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 100 (1): 80-83. 2008.
  •  104
    Deontic logic for strategic games
    Erkenntnis 78 (1): 183-200. 2013.
    We develop a multi-agent deontic action logic to study the logical behaviour of two types of deontic conditionals: (1) conditional obligations, having the form "If group H were to perform action aH, then, in group F's interest, group G ought to perform action aG" and (2) conditional permissions, having the form "If group H were to perform action aH, then, in group F's interest, group G may perform action aG". First, we define a formal language for multi-agent deontic action logic and a class of …Read more
  •  330
    Inter-level relations in computer science, biology, and psychology
    with Fred Boogerd, Frank Bruggeman, Catholijn Jonker, Huib Looren de Jong, Jan Treur, Hans Westerhoff, and Wouter Wijngaards
    Philosophical Psychology 15 (4). 2002.
    Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an *empirical* turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on *a priori* discussions of inter-level relations between 'completed' sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way inter-level relations grow out of the developing sciences. Thus, philosophical inquiries will be made more relevant to the sciences, and, more importantly, philosophical accounts of inter-level relations wi…Read more
  •  44
    We investigate the genesis of metaphysical physicalism and its influence on the development of Place's, Smart's, and Armstrong's ideas on the relation between the mental and the physical. We first reconstruct the considerations that led Armstrong and Smart to a 'scientific' world view. We call 'metaphysical physicalism' the comprehensive theory on reality, truth, and meaning which ensued from this world view. Against the background of this metaphysical physicalism we study Armstrong's and Smart'…Read more
  •  85
    Deontic Logic and Normative Systems (edited book)
    College Publications. 2016.
    The biennial DEON conferences are designed to promote interdisciplinary cooperation amongst scholars interested in linking the formal-logical study of normative concepts and normative systems with computer science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, organization theory and law. In addition to these general themes, DEON 2016 encouraged a special focus on the topic "Reasons, Argumentation and Justification."
  •  103
    Expansion and contraction of finite states
    Studia Logica 76 (3): 427-442. 2004.
    We present a theory that copes with the dynamics of inconsistent information. A method is set forth to represent possibly inconsistent information by a finite state. Next, finite operations for expansion and contraction of finite states are given. No extra-logical element — a choice function or an ordering over (sets of) sentences — is presupposed in the definition of contraction. Moreover, expansion and contraction are each other's duals. AGM-style characterizations of these operations follow.
  •  95
    Moral conflicts between groups of agents
    Journal of Philosophical Logic 37 (1): 1-21. 2008.
    Two groups of agents, G1 and G2, face a *moral conflict* if G1 has a moral obligation and G2 has a moral obligation, such that these obligations cannot both be fulfilled. We study moral conflicts using a multi-agent deontic logic devised to represent reasoning about sentences like "In the interest of group F of agents, group G of agents ought to see to it that phi". We provide a formal language and a consequentialist semantics. An illustration of our semantics with an analysis of the Prisoner’s …Read more
  • Isaac Levi's kenleer: een kritische beschouwing
    Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 94 (2): 124-145. 2002.
    Levi, setting out to formalize Peirce's and Dewey's *belief-doubt-belief*-model, took the lead in defining the field of philosophical logic that has become known as *belief change*. First, Levi's theory of knowledge is placed within the context of American pragmatism. A discussion follows of Levi's criteria under which a change of belief must be judged an improvement. In the final section, a critical evaluation of Levi's logical epistemology opens new venues for logical and epistemological inqui…Read more
  •  335
    A critical exposition of Isaac Levi's epistemology
    Logique Et Analyse 183 447-478. 2003.
    The branch of philosophical logic which has become known as “belief change” has, in the course of its development, become alienated from its epistemological origins. However, as formal criteria do not suffice to defend a principled choice between competing systems for belief change, we do need to take their epistemological embedding into account. Here, on the basis of a detailed examination of Isaac Levi's epistemology, we argue for a new direction of belief change research and propose to constr…Read more
  •  101
    Completeness via correspondence for extensions of the logic of paradox
    Review of Symbolic Logic 5 (4): 720-730. 2012.
    Taking our inspiration from modal correspondence theory, we present the idea of correspondence analysis for many-valued logics. As a benchmark case, we study truth-functional extensions of the Logic of Paradox (LP). First, we characterize each of the possible truth table entries for unary and binary operators that could be added to LP by an inference scheme. Second, we define a class of natural deduction systems on the basis of these characterizing inference schemes and a natural deduction syste…Read more
  •  45
    Het logische behaviorisme van Rudolf Carnap
    Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 65 (3). 2003.
    In the 1930s, several members of the Vienna Circle set out to incorporate psychology in the unity of science, by showing that all cognitively significant sentences of psychology can be translated into the language of physics. This epistemological analysis of psychology has become known as logical behaviourism. Carnap was the first logical empiricist to expound this programme in considerable detail. Relying on his particular notion of protocol languages, Carnap develops a view on the philosophy o…Read more
  •  117
    Three-valued logics in modal logic
    Studia Logica 101 (5): 1061-1072. 2013.
    Every truth-functional three-valued propositional logic can be conservatively translated into the modal logic S5. We prove this claim constructively in two steps. First, we define a Translation Manual that converts any propositional formula of any three-valued logic into a modal formula. Second, we show that for every S5-model there is an equivalent three-valued valuation and vice versa. In general, our Translation Manual gives rise to translations that are exponentially longer than their origin…Read more