Monotonicity in Practical Reasoning

Argumentation 17 (3):335-346 (2003)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Classic deductive logic entails that once a conclusion is sustained by a valid argument, the argument can never be invalidated, no matter how many new premises are added. This derived property of deductive reasoning is known as monotonicity. Monotonicity is thought to conflict with the defeasibility of reasoning in natural language, where the discovery of new information often leads us to reject conclusions that we once accepted. This perceived failure of monotonic reasoning to observe the defeasibility of natural-language arguments has led some philosophers to abandon deduction itself (!), often in favor of new, non-monotonic systems of inference known as `default logics'. But these radical logics (e.g., Ray Reiter's default logic) introduce their desired defeasibility at the expense of other, equally important intuitions about natural-language reasoning. And, as a matter of fact, if we recognize that monotonicity is a property of the form of a deductive argument and not its content (i.e., the claims in the premise(s) and conclusion), we can see how the common-sense notion of defeasibility can actually be captured by a purely deductive system

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 102,283

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Monotonicity and Reasoning with Exceptions.Frank Zenker - 2006 - Argumentation 20 (2):227-236.
Local logics, non-monotonicity and defeasible argumentation.Gustavo A. Bodanza & Fernando A. Tohmé - 2004 - Journal of Logic, Language and Information 14 (1):1-12.
Abstract argumentation.Robert A. Kowalski & Francesca Toni - 1996 - Artificial Intelligence and Law 4 (3-4):275-296.
The unrevisability of logic.Thomas Hofweber - 2021 - Philosophical Perspectives 35 (1):251-274.
Non-Monotonicity and Contraposition.Vincenzo Crupi, Tiziano Dalmonte & Andrea Iacona - forthcoming - Journal of Logic, Language and Information.
Is indian logic nonmonotonic?John A. Taber - 2004 - Philosophy East and West 54 (2):143-170.
The nature of nonmonotonic reasoning.Charles G. Morgan - 2000 - Minds and Machines 10 (3):321-360.

Analytics

Added to PP
2010-09-11

Downloads
55 (#401,272)

6 months
4 (#1,200,964)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

References found in this work

Problems in Argument Analysis and Evaluation.Trudy Govier - 2018 - Windsor: University of Windsor.
A logic for default reasoning.Ray Reiter - 1980 - Artificial Intelligence 13 (1-2):81-137.
Logic: Techniques of Formal Reasoning.Donald Kalish, Richard Montague & Gary Mar - 1964 - New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press USA. Edited by Richard Montague.
A critique of pure reason.Drew McDermott - 1987 - Computational Intelligence 3:151-60.

View all 8 references / Add more references