Luis Fariñas del Cerro - Böcker

This volume is a collection of papers around the theme of extending the logic programming paradigm to the area of intensional logics. Intensional logics play a central role in AI and computing, as well as in the theoretical foundation of logic programming. Intensional logic programming is one of the current frontline research areas of computational logics. This not only helps the understanding of logic programs, but will have a significant impact on future developments of logic programming itself.

Understanding the role of deduction in human reasoning has been an important activity in philosophy, logic, and more recetnly artificial intelligence. The basic patter of this kind of reasoning can be represented by conditional expressions of the form `if...then.' There are various kinds of conditionals that fit into this pattern, such as counterfactual conditionals (`if it were the case that A then it would be the case that B'), causal conditionals (`if A then causally B'), action conditionals (`if A then B is obtained'), conditional obligations (`if A then B should be brought about'), generic conditionals (`if A then normally B')etc. The common pattern to all these constructions is their conditional form which connects the antecedetn to the consequent in such a way that the antecedent represents a condition (or a context) for the consequent.The general question arises: is it possible to give a formal logical account of these constructions? This question is considered in this volume by a group of internationally recognized pure and applied logicians and computer scientists. Their papers reflect all the current research in this subject, and should serve as a guide for future development.

Systems Biology is the systematic study of the interactions between the components of a biological system and studies how these interactions give rise to the function and behavior of the living system. Through this, a life process is to be understood as a whole system rather than the collection of the parts considered separately. Systems Biology is therefore more than just an emerging field: it represents a new way of thinking about biology with a dramatic impact on the way that research is performed. The logical approach provides an intuitive method to provide explanations based on an expressive relational language.This book covers various aspects of logical modeling of biological systems, bringing together 10 recent logic-based approaches to Systems Biology by leading scientists. The chapters cover the biological fields of gene regulatory networks, signaling networks, metabolic pathways, molecular interaction and network dynamics, and show logical methods for these domains based on propositional and first-order logic, logic programming, answer set programming, temporal logic, Boolean networks, Petri nets, process hitting, and abductive and inductive logic programming.It provides an excellent guide for all scientists, biologists, bioinformaticians, and engineers, who are interested in logic-based modeling of biological systems, and the authors hope that new scientists will be encouraged to join this exciting scientific endeavor.