It Depends on the Context! A decidable logic of actions and plans based on a ternary dependence relation

Abstract

In this paper we argue for a weak form of causality in terms of a dependence relation involving actions, atoms and formulae in order to deal with the frame and ramification problems. This relation allows the atoms to change their value without forcing or causing it. Once integrated in the framework of the Logic of Actions and Plans LAP, it gives us a simple and powerful formalism to reasoning about actions and a decision procedure in terms of tableau methods. We also show how to deal with scenarios involving indeterminate and indirect effects of actions which no other causal framework can handle.