A computational model of belief Original Research Article

We propose a logic of belief in which the expansion of beliefs beyond what has been explicitly learned is modeled as a finite computational process. The logic does not impose a particular computational mechanism; rather, the mechanism is a parameter of the logic, and we show that as long as the mechanism meets a particular set of constraints, the resulting logic has certain desirable properties. Chief among these is the property that one can reason soundly about another agentʹs beliefs by simulating its computational mechanism with oneʹs own. We also give a detailed comparison of our model with Konoligeʹs deduction model, another model of belief in which the believerʹs reasoning mechanism is a parameter.