Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/XB_0116

Course Objective

Knowledge and understanding: students will be acquainted with central logic-based formalisms for symbolic AI such as modal logics and description logics. Applying knowledge and understanding: students will know syntax and semantics of different modal and description logics, how to reason in these logics, aspects of expressivity, and be able to determine which logic is suitable for a particular application. They will be able to formalise real-life knowledge and processes involving terminology, time, and strategic reasoning using appropriate logics. Making judgements: students will be able to reason about and assess the application decisions of different modal and description logics, and be able to determine which logic is suited for which application scenario. Learning skills: students will be trained in writing specifications for properties of process systems based on concepts of knowledge, time, strategic reasoning using a particular language and verifying those properties by model checking.

Course Content

During the course we discuss logics that are relevant for symbolic AI:modal logics, in particular, Basic Modal logic, Temporal logic, Epistemic logic, some multi-modal logics most applicable to specification and verification of correctness properties of artificial Intelligence systems;description logics; in particular the description logic ALC and some of its relevant extensionsconnection between modal logics and description logics;issues relevant to understanding capacities of logics, such as deductive reasoning, model checking and expressiveness

Teaching Methods

During 7 weeks, 2 lectures (both 1.5 hours) and 1 exercise class (2 hours) each week. There is no mandatory attendance for any lectures, well mandatory presence during exercise classes.

Method of Assessment

Assignments 40% (individual work). An exam 60% (individual work) There is a resit for the exam, no resit is possible for practical assignments.

Literature

A reader for the modal logic part. F. Baader, I. Horrocks, C. Lutz, U. Sattler: An Introduction to Description Logic. Cambridge University Press. 2017. ISBN 9781139025355

Target Audience

Bachelor Artificial Intelligence (year 3)

Custom Course Registration

No deviations from the regular course registration process.

Entry Requirements

No entry requirement.

Recommended background knowledge

Basic knowledge of logic (propositional logic and first-order logic)
Academic year1/09/2531/08/26
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Bachelor