[logic-ml] Talk by Jeremey Seligman on "Adventures in Social Epistemic Logic"

[Ken Satoh]

Dear all,

I am very happy to announce the following talk by Jeremy Seligman at NII.
Everyone is welcome.

Best Regards,
Ken Satoh
email ksatoh at nii.ac.jp
http://research.nii.ac.jp/~ksatoh
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Date and Time: 15:00-16:00, 5 September (Wednesday)
Place: Room 2009 (20F), National Institute of Informatics,
https://www.nii.ac.jp/en/about/access/

Speaker: Jeremy Seligman (University of Auckland / Tsinghua Univeristy)
http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/people/jsel014
Title: Adventures in Social Epistemic Logic
Abstract:
What can sociology and social psychology give to logic, especially epistemic
logic?
We look first at models of diffusion, which has been used to explain a wide
variety of social phenomena from contagion to the spread of culture and
innovation. As an alternative to the classic models based on linear algebra,
we use cellular automata specified using modal logic with dynamic operators.
We extend this approach to models of influence.
>From these examples of non-relational deterministic "low-level" rational
behaviour, we consider several extensions. First, a modest addition to model
some higher-order reasoning in social situations. Second, a treatment of
non-determinism using free parameters and constraints specified also in
modal logic. Third, we consider changes to the social relations using a
PDL-like extension to our modal specification language. Finally, we look at
"colouring games" as a paradigm of sociological explanation, and briefly
introduce the approach of Boolean network games, that uses logically
specified automaton-based models, together with concepts from game theory.