A theory of defeasible reasoning

Reasoning can lead not only to the adoption of beliefs, but also to the retraction of beliefs. In philosophy, this is described by saying that reasoning is defeasible. My ultimate objective is the construction of a general theory of reasoning and its implementation in an automated reasoner capable of both deductive and defeasible reasoning. the resulting system is named “OSCAR.” This article addresses some of the theoretical underpinnings of OSCAR. This article extends my earlier theory in two directions. First, it addresses the question of what the criteria of adequacy should be for a defeasible reasoner. Second, it extends the theory to accommodate reasons of varying strengths.

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