Data-oriented Belief Revision: Towards a Unified Theory of Epistemic Processing

Building on a long research tradition (cf. 1), this paper proposes to apply the distinction between data (information stored in the agent’s mind) and beliefs (information accepted as reliable) to belief revision modeling (cf. 2), in order to integrate belief change in the overall epistemic processing of the agent. As a result, a more comprehensive and complex model of epistemic dynamics is formally described, christened as Data-oriented Belief Revision (DBR), and compared on the ground of expressive power with the underlying conceptual architecture of standard models of belief change (cf. 3). Some computational features of DBR are further discussed in 4, with special reference to information update, data structures, the assessment of data properties, and belief selection. Finally, preliminary results and future developments of DBR are assessed in 5.