Belief systems and language understanding

Bruce, Bertram C.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/43370 Copy

Description

Title

Belief systems and language understanding

Author(s)

Bruce, Bertram C.

Contributor(s)

• Sedelow, W.A.
• Sedelow, S.V.

Issue Date

1983

Keyword(s)

• belief systems
• Natural Language Processing
• Speech acts (Linguistics)
• language understanding
• artificial intelligence
• personal causation
• intention
• social action
• social action paradigm

Abstract

"Understanding natural language demands the use of many types of knowledge. For example, one must know definitions of words, rules of syntax, and knowledge about the world. Some of the world knowledge has an emphasis on intention, i.e., the purpose behind actions. It is this knowledge which allows us to recognize the distinction between requests and orders, promises and threats, or lies and informings. / In order to recognize intention in behavior, whether the behavior be speech or otherwise, it is necessary to have a model of the beliefs of others. Furthermore one needs to know how actions typically fit together into larger units and how different aspects of an action are determined by intentions and beliefs. / This paper discusses some of the ""belief systems knowledge"" used in language understanding. It begins with a presentation of a theory of personal causation. The theory supplies the tools to account for purposeful behavior. Using primitives of the theory the social aspect of an action can be described. The social aspect is that which depends on beliefs and intentions. Patterns of behavior, called ""social action paradigms"" (SAP's), are then defined in terms of social actions. The SAP provide a structure for episode, analogous to the structure a grammar provides for sentences."

Publisher

de Gruyter

Series/Report Name or Number

de Gruyter, Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs, 19

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/43370

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

dvanced Research Projects Agenny under AKPA Order No. 1697; Contract No. DAHC15-71-C-0088

Copyright and License Information

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the author and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Advanced Research Projects Agency or the U.S. Government. Distribution of this document is unlimited. It may be released to the Clearinghouse, Department of Commerce for sale to the general public.

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