Inference in first-order logic

3 Mar 2004

CS3243 - Inference

Unification

lWe can get the inference immediately if we can find a substitution θ such that King(x) and Greedy(x) match King(John) and Greedy(y)

θ = {x/John,y/John} works

lUnify(α,β) = θ if αθ = βθ

p q θ

Knows(John,x) Knows(John,Jane) {x/Jane}}

Knows(John,x) Knows(y,OJ) {x/OJ,y/John}}

Knows(John,x) Knows(y,Mother(y))

Knows(John,x) Knows(x,OJ)

lStandardizing apart eliminates overlap of variables, e.g., Knows(z17,OJ)