Abstract
The concept of a linguistic variable, first introduced by Zadeh [5], is here modified and reinterpreted with the aim of producing a computationally more manageable model of natural human reasoning with linguistic imprecision. An important characteristic of the new interpretation is that it establishes the meaning of linguistic terms relative to a context comprised of the available atomic linguistic terms. This in turn leads to a formal distinction between the precision of linguistic terms and their specificity.
A future work is planned wherein the new formulation will be explored as the possible basis for an intuitively plausible semantics for Horn clauses. It is hoped that this will yield a viable approach to approximate reasoning in various kinds of automated deduction systems.
This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Grant Number N00014-87-G-0219.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
R. E. Bellman and L. A. Zadeh, Local and fuzzy logics. In J.M. Dunn and G. Epstien (eds.), Modern Uses of Multiple Valued Logics, Dorderecht: D. Reidel, 1977, pp. 103–165.
K. J. Schmucker, Fuzzy Sets, Natural Language Computations, and Risk Analysis, Rockville, MD: Computer Science Press, 1984.
D. G. Schwartz, A model of expert decision making with fuzzy criteria. In Preprints of the Second IFSA Congress, Tokyo, Japan, July 20–25, 1987, Proceedings of the Second Congress of the International Fuzzy Systems Association, pp. 622–624.
R. M. Tong and J. Efstathiou, A critical assessment of truth functional modification and its use in approximate reasoning. Fuzzy Sets and Systems 7 (1982) 103–108.
L. A. Zadeh, The concept of a linguistic variable and its application to approximate reasoning, Part I: Inf. Sci. 8 (1975) 199–249; Part II: Inf. Sci. 8 (1975) 301–357; Part III: Inf. Sci. 9 (1975) 43–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Schwartz, D.G. (1988). An alternative semantics for linguistic variables. In: Bouchon, B., Saitta, L., Yager, R.R. (eds) Uncertainty and Intelligent Systems. IPMU 1988. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 313. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-19402-9_60
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-19402-9_60
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-19402-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39255-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive