Michael Masuch

ALX, an action logic for agents with bounded rationality

Abstract We propose a modal action logic that combines ideas from H.A. Simons bounded rationality, S. Kripkes possible world semantics, G.H. von Wrights preference logic, Pratts dynamic logic, Stalnakers minimal change and more recent approaches to update semantics. ALX (the xth action logic) is sound, complete and decidable, making it the first complete logic for two-place preference operators. ALX avoids important drawbacks of other action logics, especially the counterintuitive necessitation rule for goals (every theorem must be a goal) and the equally counterintuitive closure of goals under logical implication.

Regular equivalence and dynamic logic

Abstract This paper describes a precise linguistic counterpart to the notion of a regular equivalence relation on a social network. That is, a formal language of position terms is defined with the property that on finite networks, two actors are regularly equivalent if and only if they cannot be distinguished by a position term. The paper also contains an exact characterization of the set of complex relations which are preserved under regular equivalences. The results presented here are known from logic and computer science, in which the mentioned language is called dynamic logic. The aim of the paper is to make these results available to social network analysts and explain why they are of interest to them.

A case study in logical deconstruction: Formalizing J.D. Thompson's Organizations in Action in a multi-agent action logic

Logic is a popular word in the social sciences, but it is rarely used as a formal tool. In the past, the logical formalisms were cumbersome and difficult to apply to domains of purposeful action. Recent years, however, have seen the advance of new logics specially designed for representing actions. We present such a logic and apply it to a classical organization theory, J.D. Thompsons Organizations in Action. The working hypothesis is that formal logic draws attention to some finer points in the logical structure of a theory, points that are easily neglected in the discursive reasoning typical for the social sciences. Examining Organizations in Action we find various problems in its logical structure that should, and, as we argue, could be addressed.