Simple Causal Minimizations for Temporal Persistence and Projection

Formalizing temporal persistence and solving the temporal projection problem within traditional non-monotonic logics is shown possible through two different approaches, neither of which requires any special minimization techniques. Minimizing potential causes is shown to yield a type of temporal persistence that is useful for the temporal projection problem, although it differs significantly from the ordinary conception of temporal persistence. A conception of determined causes is then developed whose minimization does yield the results preferred by ordinary temporal persistence. Finally, previous approaches to formalizing temporal persistence using chronological minimizations are shown inadequate for certain classes of scenarios, which causal minimizations formalize correctly.