A Logic of Relative Desire (Preliminary Report)

J Doyle, Y Shoham, and MP Wellman

In Z. W. Ras and M. Zemankova, editors, Methodologies for Intelligent Systems 6, Springer-Verlag, 1991.
Copyright (c) 1991, J. Doyle et al.

Abstract

Although many have proposed formal characterizations of belief structures as bases for rational action, the problem of characterizing rational desire has attracted little attention. AI relies heavily on goal conditions interpreted (apparently) as absolute expressions of desirability, but these cannot express varying degrees of goal satisfaction or preferences among alternative goals. Our previous work provided a relative interpretation of goals as qualitative statements about preferability, all else equal. We extend that treatment to the comparision of arbitrary propositions, and develop a propositional logic of relative desire suitable for formalizing properties of planning and problem-solving methods.

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