Making Others Believe What They Want

We study the interplay between argumentation and belief revision within the MAS framework. When an agent uses an argument to persuade another one, he must consider not only the proposition supported by the argument, but also the overall impact of the argument on the beliefs of the addressee. Different arguments lead to different belief revisions by the addressee. We propose an approach whereby the best argument is defined as the one which is both rational and the most appealing to the addressee. 1 A motivating example Galbraith [5] put forward examples of public communication where speakers have to address a politically oriented audience. He noticed how it is difficult to propose them views which contrast with their goals, values, and what they already know. Speaker S , a financial advisor, has to persuade addressee R, an investor, who desires to invest a certain amount of money (im). S has two alternative arguments in support of a proposition wd ("The dollar is weak") he wan...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: IFIP12
• Authors: Guido Boella, Célia da Costa Pereira, Andrea Tettamanzi, Leendert van der Torre
• Keywords: Belief Revisions, IFIP12 2008, Information Technology, MAS Framework, Motivating Example Galbraith