Autoepistemic logic programming

An autoepistemic logic programming language is derived from a subset of a three-valued autoepistemic logic, called 3AEL. Autoepistemic programs generalize several ideas underlying logic programming: stable, supported, and well-founded models, Fitting's semantics, Kunen's semantics, and abductive frameworks can all be captured through simple autoepistemic translations; moreover, SLDNF-resolution and a generate-and-test method for stable semantics are generalized to provide sound and complete proof methods for autoepistemic programs. These methods extend existing proof methods for 3AEL. Thus autoepistemic logic programming, besides contributing to the understanding of 3AEL, can be seen as a unifying framework for the theory of logic programs. It should also be regarded as a first step toward a flexible environment where different forms of inference can be formally integrated.This paper is an extended version of [8]. I am grateful to my advisor, Giorgio Levi, to Paolo Mancarella, who read the first version of the paper, and to the anonymous referees, whose comments led to sensible improvements.