A Logical Analysis of Instrumentality Judgments: Means-End Relations in the Context of Experience and Expectations

Kees van Berkel, Tim S. Lyon, Matteo Pascucci*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

This article proposes the use of temporal logic for an analysis of instrumentality inspired by the work of G.H. von Wright. The first part of the article contains the philosophical foundations. We discuss von Wright’s general theory of agency and his account of instrumentality. Moreover, we propose several refinements to this framework via rigorous definitions of the core notions involved. In the second part, we develop a logical system called Temporal Logic of Action and Expectations (TLAE). The logic is inspired by a fragment of propositional dynamic logic based on indeterministic time. The system is proven to be weakly complete relative to its given semantics. We then employ TLAE to formalise and analyse the instrumentality relations defined in the first part of the paper. Last, we point out philosophical implications and possible extensions of our work.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1475-1516
Number of pages42
JournalJournal of Philosophical Logic
Volume52
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Aug 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Action logic
  • Instrumentality
  • Means-end relation
  • Philosophical logic
  • Temporal logic
  • Von Wright

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