TY - Generic T1 - A Fuzzy Logic Approach to Non-Scalar Hedges Y1 - 2008 A1 - van der Waart van Gulik, Stephan ED - Makinson, David ED - Wansing, Heinrich AB -
In (Journal of Philosophical Logic, 2: 458508, 1973), George Lakoff proposes a fuzzy semantics for the non-scalar hedges technically, strictly speaking, and loosely speaking. These hedges are able to modify the meaning of a predicate. However, Lakoffs proposal is problematic. For example, his semantics only contains interpretations for hedged predicates using semantic information provided by selection functions. What kind of information these functions should provide for non-hedged predicates remains unspecified. This paper presents a solution for this deficit and other problems by means of a generic first-order fuzzy logic FLh . A wide range of fuzzy logics can be used as a basis for FLh . Next to a fully specified semantics, this solution also incorporates a proof theory for reasoning with these hedges. FLh makes use of a special set of selection functions. These functions collect the kind of information a reasoner can retrieve from concepts in his or her memory when interpreting a (non-)hedged predicate. Despite this non-standard element, FLh remains a conservative modification of its underlying fuzzy logic.
JA - Towards Mathematical Philosophy T3 - Trends in Logic PB - Kluwer SP - 233-247 ER -