On the equivalence of logic-based argumentation systems

Abstract

Equivalence between two argumentation systems means mainly that the two systems return the same outputs. It can be used for different purposes, namely in order to show whether two systems that are built over the same knowledge base but with distinct attack relations return the same outputs, and more importantly to check whether an infinite system can be reduced into a finite one. Recently, the equivalence between abstract argumentation systems was investigated. Two categories of equivalence criteria were particularly proposed. The first category compares directly the outputs of the two systems (e.g. their extensions) while the second compares the outputs of their extended versions (i.e. the systems augmented by the same set of arguments). It was shown that only identical systems are equivalent w.r.t. those criteria. In this paper, we study when two logic-based argumentation systems are equivalent. We refine existing criteria by considering the internal structure of arguments and propose new ones. Then, we identify cases where two systems are equivalent. In particular, we show that under some reasonable conditions on the logic underlying an argumentation system, the latter has an equivalent finite subsystem. This subsystem constitutes a threshold under which arguments of the system have not yet attained their final status and consequently adding a new argument may result in status change. From that threshold, the statuses of all arguments become stable. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.