Context
Vocabulary
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Update: 4/5/02
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.
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#$Microtheory contexts
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A specialization of #$AbstractInformationalThing.
Each instance of #$Microtheory is
an abstract informational thing that represents a context in
Cyc. Each microtheory (or 'mt') serves to group a set of
assertions together that share some common assumptions; the
assertions in an mt constitute the content of that mt. Note
that each assertion in the Cyc knowledge base must be
explicitly stated to be true in at least one microtheory.
Assertions stated to be true in one mt will also be true (by
inference) in more specialized mts that depend on the
content of that mt. For example, if something is true in the
#$HumanSocialLifeMt (q.v.), then it should by default be
true in the more specialized #$UnitedStatesSocialLifeMt
(q.v.). Specialized microtheories are related to the more
general microtheories on which they depend by the predicate
#$genlMt
(q.v.). Note that every query is made in some mt, and the
answer one gets to a query depends on the mt in which it is
asked, since the only assertions which can be used to answer
a query in an mt are those explicitly stated to be true in
that mt, or in some more general mt. See also the predicate
#$ist, which is
used to relate an assertion to the microtheories in which it
is true.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$AbstractInformationalThing
direct generalization of:
#$Language-SpecificMicrotheory #$PlanBackgroundContext
#$VocabularyMicrotheory #$TheoryMicrotheory
#$DeclarativeContext #$DataMicrotheory
#$PlanningDomainMicrotheory #$HypotheticalContext
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory
#$BroadMicrotheory
#$CounterfactualContext
#$ProblemSolvingCntxt
#$GeneralMicrotheory
#$PropositionalInformationThing
#$LexicalMicrotheory #$FictionalContext
#$MicrotheoryType types
of microtheory
A collection of collections. Each instance of #$MicrotheoryType
is a specialization of #$Microtheory.
Instances of #$MicrotheoryType
include the collections #$HypotheticalContext
and #$GeneralMicrotheory.
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direct instance of: #$SecondOrderCollection
direct specialization of: #$FirstOrderCollection
#$ist ist
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This predicate relates a microtheory to any
sentence that is true in it. (#$ist MT SENT) means
that the CycL sentence SENT (or, if you prefer, the
proposition SENT expresses) is true in the microtheory MT.
Note that SENT need not actually be _asserted_ in MT; MT
might for example inherit SENT from a more general
microtheory. (Cf. #$ist-Asserted.)
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direct instance of: #$MicrotheoryDesignatingPredicate
#$BinaryPredicate #$MicrotheoryPredicate
#$genlMt genl mt
This predicate relates a more specific microtheory
to a more general one, where the former constitutes a
specialization with respect to the latter. More precisely:
(#$genlMt
SPEC-MT GENL-MT) means that any assertion that is true in
GENL-MT is also true in SPEC-MT. Thus a query posed in
SPEC-MT has access to all of the assertions asserted in
GENL-MT. (The consequences of this are far-reaching since #$genlMt is
transitive.) One particular microtheory, the #$BaseKB, is in the
unique position of being a generalization (via #$genlMt) of every
microtheory. (Note that, for technical reasons, all #$genlMt assertions
should be made in the #$BaseKB.)
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direct instance of: #$OpenCycDefinitionalPredicate
#$RuleMacroPredicate
#$DefaultMonotonicPredicate
#$ReflexiveBinaryPredicate #$TransitiveBinaryPredicate #$MicrotheoryPredicate
direct specialization of: #$generalizations
#$domainAssumptions domain assumptions
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(#$domainAssumptions
M P) means that the microtheory M has the proposition P as a
domain assumption. See the comment for #$Microtheory
for a detailed explanation of what the `assumptions' of a mt
are, as opposed to its `content'. In brief, it means that
all the `content' assertions of M assume that P is true.
Another way of thinking of this is that one is `in' context
M only if all its domain assumptions are true. Another way
of thinking of this is that the various `content' assertions
of M only apply to objects that satisfy all its #$domainAssumptions.
Yes, that means that the `domain of quantifiers' (#$forAll and #$thereExists)
is limited to the universe of such objects. So if it's true
in M that (#$forAll ?x Q),
and if we lift this axiom to another theory M2 that does not
make the domain assumption P, then the axiom becomes (#$forAll ?x (#$implies P
Q)). Note: Actually, what becomes true in M2 is slightly
more complicated, namely: (#$forAll ?x (#$implies (#$and P1 P2 P3...)
Q)), where P1, P2, P3,... are all the domain assumptions of
M which are not implied by the domain assumptions of M2.
Note: Domain assumption propositions --- in this case P ---
must have a special format: P must contain the free variable
?U, and this ?U represents `some term which is talked about
in M'. The idea is that one could have a domain assumption
that said `if ?U is a person, ?U must have been born after
1950', or which said `if ?U is the performer of an event,
then ?U is a person' etc. For example: (#$implies (#$isa ?U #$StateOfMatterChangeEvent)
(#$isa ?U #$CreationOrDestructionEvent)
is one of the #$domainAssumptions
of the #$NaiveStateChangeMt context. It says that, in that
context, physical state changes of an object (e.g., melting
or boiling) are viewed as creations and destructions, in
which elements of #$Entity come into or go
out of existence, rather than viewing them as events which
preserve entityhood. See also #$mtAdditionConstraint.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryPredicate
#$BinaryPredicate
#$GeneralMicrotheory general microtheory
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The collection consisting of every #$Microtheory
intended to contain general axioms useful for multiple
purposes. This excludes microtheories which deal with
specific situations, such as instances of #$ProblemSolvingCntxt,
microtheories that represent the information content of one
specific #$InformationBearingObject
such as the US Declaration of Independence, or those which
are purely lexical microtheories. Examples of this
collection are #$HumanSocialLifeMt, #$BuyingMt, and
#$NaiveAnimalsMt. Negative examples include
#$GeneralLexiconMt (purely lexical) and #$PeopleDataMt (no
general axioms).
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of: #$DeclarativeContext
#$BroadMicrotheory broad microtheory
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The collection of those microtheories that contain
so many assertions that they are not useful for `relevance'
focusing during inference. (A #$BroadMicrotheory
is not used internally in Cyc's indexing scheme during
inference.) Examples: #$BaseKB and #$EnglishMt.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$ProblemSolvingCntxt psc (context)
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The collection of microtheories that are used in
applications as a means to reason about particular
situations. Every original query takes place in some #$ProblemSolvingCntxt
(as opposed to a #$GeneralMicrotheory)
which has access --- via the #$genlMt relation ---
to other relevant microtheories, all the way up to the most
general one, the #$BaseKB. A #$ProblemSolvingCntxt
is usually created temporarily for the problem at hand, and
is discarded after the problem is dealt with (unlike a #$GeneralMicrotheory,
which is created for lasting use).
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$BaseKB Base KB knowledge
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#$BaseKB
is the most general #$Microtheory
currently in use. Assertions in this context are
`accessible' from any other #$Microtheory
via the #$genlMt
relation. In the partial order of microtheories, all
microtheories have access to #$BaseKB. An
assertion which is true here will by default be true in
every context. The `content' of #$BaseKB consists of
very general assertions which are expected to be usable in
most or all applications of Cyc, as well as Cyc's most
fundamental assertions that it uses in inference, and all
completely universal, timeless truths.
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direct instance of:
#$BroadMicrotheory
#$GeneralMicrotheory
#$Individual
#$CounterfactualContext counterfactual contexts
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The collection of microtheories that are each
assumed to include at least one counterfactual assertion: an
assertion which is believed to be untrue in the real world.
It may be, however, that there is no explicit counterfactual
assertion in a given #$CounterfactualContext.
In particular, it is not required that there be any explicit
contradiction of assertions in the #$genlMts of the #$CounterfactualContext.
But intuitively speaking, most adults would be reticent
about trusting too strongly in a propositon whose only
justification was in a #$CounterfactualContext.
All works of fiction relate events that transpire in
counterfactual contexts. Examples: #$WorldMythologyMt,
#$PaddingtonBearStoriesMt, #$ChristmasMythologyMt.
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direct instance of:
#$ObjectType #$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
direct generalization of:
#$FictionalContext
#$FictionalContext fictional contexts
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The collection of #$CounterfactualContexts
which are (1) created intentionally, not by error or chance
or gradual evolution and accretion in a culture, and (2)
typically are the information content of some #$InformationBearingThing,
and (3) are not expected (by their creator) to be believed
as factual, nor do their creators believe them to be
factual. In addition to asserting fictional propositions
about existing things, a #$FictionalContext
may include terms for nonexistent things. Examples:
#$LordOfTheRings, #$AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$CounterfactualContext
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory supposed
to be microtheory
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The collection of microtheories that describe how
things are 'supposed to be' according to some agent or
agents. This technique can be used to represent things like
the policies of a company, the laws of a country, the tenets
of a religion, the rules of proper conduct for employees of
a particular corporation, etc. The assertions in a #$SupposedToBeMicrotheory
may or may not describe the world as it actually is.
Examples: #$BasicWesternLegalConceptsMt,
#$SportsRulesOf-BoxingSportsEvent, #$CycStaffCalendar, and #$OfficeCodeOfConductMt.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
direct generalization of:
#$Proposal #$Agreement #$Obligation
#$TextMicrotheory text microtheory
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The collection of Microtheories each of which
contains assertions that convey the information content of a
particular text. The propositional content of a text is a #$PropositionalInformationThing,
and it forms a #$TextMicrotheory.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$PropositionalInformationThing
#$HypotheticalContext hypothetical context
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The collection of microtheories that consist of
assertions which are posited for the purpose of exploring
their consequences, without alleging the actual truth of the
assertions. A #$HypotheticalContext
may be used to analyze hypothetical outcomes of actions, or
to examine the hypothetical consequences of assuming some
theory to be true. Sometimes the various alternatives in a
decision may be asserted, each in their own #$HypotheticalContext,
so their ramifications may be generated and evaluated.
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direct instance of:
#$ObjectType #$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$PerspectiveMicrotheory perspective microtheory
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The collection of Microtheories that each represent
the propositional beliefs of a particular perspective. A #$PerspectiveMicrotheory
is the view of facts generally taken by someone or something
in a particular role or type of role. The propositions in a
#$PerspectiveMicrotheory
are true from the perspective of the thing in that role.
Examples include: #$AudiencePerspectiveMt,
#$WorkerPerspectiveMt, #$RecipientOfServicePerspectiveMt,
#$ProviderOfServicePerspectiveMt, #$PassengerPerspectiveMt,
#$DriverPerspectiveMt, etc.
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direct instance of:
#$ObjectType #$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$NeedMicrotheory needs
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The collection of Microtheories each containing
those propositions that describe what some #$Agent needs to be
true. This may be distinct from what the #$Agent wants to be
true, and depends on some additional assessment of the
#$Agent's need by someone else. It may include physical,
financial or formal legal `needs' of the #$Agent.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
direct generalization of:
#$Obligation
#$Expectation expectations
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The collection of microtheories whose propositions
represent what some #$Agent (or #$Group of #$Agents) believes will
be true at some future time.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$Obligation obligations
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A collection of microtheories; a subcollection of
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory.
Each instance of the collection #$Obligation is a
microtheory which contains assertions describing what some
agent (the #$obligatedAgent) is obliged to do, or make true,
for one or more other agents, possibly including society in
general. An obligation is the most general case of some
agent owing something to another. Obligations may be
undertaken in conjunction with various kinds of #$Agreements.
Unlike an agreement, however, an obligation need not have a
second known party (though some do). An obligation can exist
and be understood without identifying another particular
agent as the `holder' of the obligation -- and that may be
true, even if the beneficiary (#$obligationOwedTo) can be
identified. For example, assuming that parents have an
obligation to care for their children, it is not clear with
whom a parent has `agreed' to take care of his or her child.
Some common ways to incur an obligation are through social
transactions (e.g., family duties, friendship, favors) or
through financial transactions (e.g., a
#$PaymentObligation). In addition, obligations may be
imposed on those who are subject to one or more instances of
#$CodeOfConduct,
e.g., #$LegalCode-ModernUnitedStates,
#$SportsRulesOf-BoxingSportsEvent, #$OfficeCodeOfConductMt.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory #$IntangibleExistingThing
direct generalization of:
#$WorkAgreement
#$CodeOfConduct
#$Estimate estimations (contexts)
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The collection of microtheories containing
propositions that represent beliefs by some #$Agent which are the
result of inexact judgmental reasoning. For example, IBM's
estimate on January 1, 1992, of fourth quarter earnings for
1991. This concept encompasses the common meaning of
`estimate' and also `guess'. This contrasts with beliefs
which are derived primarily from rigorous or reliable
reasoning, direct observation, or consultation of
authoritative sources. This also contrasts with intentional
lies and works of fiction, which are not #$Estimates.
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direct instance of:
#$ObjectType #$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Microtheory
#$Story stories
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The collection of microtheories each of which
contains the assertional content of a story -- a #$Narrative
describing a particular sequence of events which occur to
one or more characters in the story. The story is at least
partially fictional as opposed to true stories .
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direct instance of:
#$ObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Narrative
#$BeliefSystemMicrotheory belief
system microtheory
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The collection of microtheories each of which
contains the assertional content of the beliefs of some
religion, creed, cult, social group, school of thought,
political party, or other group that has shared beliefs or
doctrines. Example: #$ChristianityMt.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.