On the Definition of Essential and Contingent Properties of Subjective Belief Bases

In this paper, we introduce several features of subjective belief bases from both individualistic and collective perspectives and hence provide suitable essential and contingent properties for such belief bases. Essential properties reflect the attributes of a belief base being considered in vacuum, whereas contingent properties of a belief base reveal its characteristics with regards to the rest of its peer belief bases. Subjective belief bases employ values from Subjective logic, a type of probabilistic logic that explicitly takes uncertainty and belief ownership into account, to represent the priority information of the formula in each belief base. We show that subjective belief bases are a generalization of prioritized belief bases whose formula are annotated with their degree of necessity from possibilistic logic. We also discuss the role of essential and contingent properties in defining suitable belief base ordering functions.