TY - Generic T1 - Alleged assassins: realist and constructivist semantics for modal modification Y1 - 2013 A1 - Jespersen, Bjørn A1 - Primiero, Giuseppe AB -

Modal modifiers such as Alleged oscillate between being subsective and being privative. If individual a is an alleged assassin (at some parameter of evaluation) then it is an open question whether a is an assassin (at that parameter). Standardly, modal modifiers are negatively defined, in terms of failed inferences or non-intersectivity or non-extensionality. Modal modifiers are in want of a positive definition and a worked-out logical semantics. This paper offers two positive definitions. The realist definition is elaborated within Tichý’s Transparent Intensional Logic (TIL) and builds upon Montague’s model-theoretic semantics for adjectives as representing mappings from properties to properties. The constructivist definition is based on an extension of Martin-Löf’s Constructive Type Theory (CTT) so as to accommodate partial verification. We show that, and why, “a is an alleged assassin” and “Allegedly, a is an assassin” are equivalent in TIL and synonymous in CTT.

JA - Logic, Language, and Computation T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science PB - Springer VL - 7758 SP - 94–114 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Explanation in the social sciences Y1 - 2011 A1 - Van Bouwel, Jeroen A1 - Weber, Erik ED - Jarvie, Ian ED - Zamora-Bonilla, Jesus AB -

This chapter gives an overview of the philosophical debates concerning explanation in the social sciences.

JA - The SAGE Handbook of the Philosophy of the Social Sciences PB - Sage Publications CY - London SP - 632–646 SN - 9781847874009 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Two type-theoretical approaches to privative modification Y1 - 2009 A1 - Primiero, Giuseppe A1 - Jespersen, Bjørn ED - Nakakoji, Kumiyo ED - Murakami, Yohei ED - McCready, Eric AB -

In this paper we apply two kinds of procedural semantics to the problem of privative modification. We do this for three reasons. The first reason is to launch a tough test case to gauge the degree of substantial agreement between a constructivist and a realist interpretation of a procedural semantics; the second is to extend Martin-Lof's Type Theory to privative modification, which is characteristic of natural language; the third reason is to sketch a positive characterization of privation.

JA - New Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence: JSAI-isAI 2009 Workshops PB - Springer Verlag CY - Berlin, Heidelberg SP - 239–258 SN - 4-915905-37-3 C3004 ER -