On applying the AGM theory to DLs and OWL

Abstract

It is generally acknowledged that any Knowledge Base (KB) should be able to adapt itself to new information received. This problem has been extensively studied in the field of belief change, the dominating approach being the AGM theory. This theory set the standard for determining the rationality of a given belief change mechanism but was placed in a certain context which makes it inapplicable to logics used in the Semantic Web, such as Description Logics (DLs) and OWL. We believe the Semantic Web community would benefit from the application of the AGM theory to such logics. This paper is a preliminary study towards the feasibility of this application. Our approach raises interesting theoretical challenges and has an important practical impact too, given the central role that DLs and OWL play in the Semantic Web. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.