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Coherence as Constraint Satisfaction
Author(s) -
Thagard Paul,
Verbeurgt Karsten
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.498
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1551-6709
pISSN - 0364-0213
DOI - 10.1207/s15516709cog2201_1
Subject(s) - coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , constraint satisfaction problem , computer science , constraint satisfaction , set (abstract data type) , constraint (computer aided design) , coherence theory , range (aeronautics) , algorithm , artificial intelligence , mathematics , coherence length , physics , statistics , engineering , quantum mechanics , geometry , probabilistic logic , programming language , aerospace engineering , superconductivity
This paper provides a computational characterization of coherence that applies to a wide range of philosophical problems and psychological phenomena. Maximizing coherence is a matter of maximizing satisfaction of a set of positive and negative constraints. After comparing five algorithms for maximizing coherence, we show how our characterization of coherence overcomes traditional philosophical objections about circularity and truth.