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Newsletter October 3, No. 48



                      C S L I   N E W S L E T T E R
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October 3, 1985                 Stanford                       Vol. 2, No. 48
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     A weekly publication of The Center for the Study of Language and
     Information, Ventura Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
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          CSLI ACTIVITIES FOR *THIS* THURSDAY, October 3, 1985

   12 noon		TINLunch
     Ventura Hall       ``Idealized Cognitive Models'' and ``Metonymic Models''
     Conference Room    Sections 4, 5 of ``Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things''
			by George Lakoff
			Discussion led by Douglas Edwards

   2:15 p.m.		CSLI Seminar
     Redwood Hall	``Notes from the STASS Underground''
     Room G-19		David Israel, CSLI and SRI

   3:30 p.m.		Tea
     Ventura Hall		
                              ____________

          CSLI ACTIVITIES FOR *NEXT* THURSDAY, October 10, 1985

   12 noon		TINLunch
     Ventura Hall       ``Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity''
     Conference Room    by Drew McDermott
			Discussion led by Roland Hausser, U. of Munich

   2:15 p.m.		CSLI Seminar
     Redwood Hall	``Ontology and Intensionality''
     Room G-19		Edward Zalta, CSLI
			Discussion led by John Perry
			(Abstract on page 2)

   3:30 p.m.		Tea
     Ventura Hall		

                              ____________
                  TENTATIVE FALL SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAYS

   THURSDAY SEMINARS

   Date                    Person or Group responsible

   10-3			Situation Theory and Situation Semantics
   10-10		Zalta
   10-17		Sells
   10-24		Discourse, Intention and Action
   10-31		Foundations of Document Preparation
   11-7			Phonology and Phonetics
   11-14		Finite State Morphology
   11-21		Computational Models of Spoken Language 
   12-5			Winograd

Page 2                     CSLI Newsletter                    October 3, 1985
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   THURSDAY COLLOQUIA

   10-3 to 10-17:	Situation Theory and Situation Semantics
   10-24 to 11-7:	Discourse, Intention and Action 
   11-14 to 11-20:	Phonology & Phonetics, Finite State Morphology, &
                        Computational Models of Spoken Language 
   11/21		Joe Traub, CS Dept., Columbia
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                    ABSTRACT FOR NEXT WEEK'S SEMINAR
                     ``Ontology and Intensionality''

      The foundations of semantics require more than just a theory of
   properties, relations, and propositions.  Such theories do show that
   logically equivalent relations and propositions are not necessarily
   identical, but they do not provide us with an explanation of modality
   and tense (for which we need something like worlds and times), nor
   with an explanation of the truth conditions, entailments, and
   substitutivity failures involving codesignative names and descriptions
   of important varieties of intensional sentences (for which we need
   something like intentional objects).  The theory which I have been
   developing has logical axioms which generate properties, relations,
   and propositions, and proper axioms which generate abstract
   individuals, some of which have just the features worlds have and some
   of which can help us explain intensionality by serving as intentional
   objects.  In the seminar, I'll show how to extend the theory to define
   times and account for the many similarities between worlds and times.
   Then I'll show that, given this ontology, the traditional
   understanding of intensionality must be revised and that certain
   classic puzzles involving modality and descriptions have a simple
   solution.					--Ed Zalta
                              ____________
                               LOGIC LUNCH

      On Mondays there will be an informal brown bag logic lunch in the
   Philosophy Lounge, building 90, from 12 to 1, starting October 7.  If
   you are interested in logic, please come any time.  Send questions to
   Jon Barwise (barwise@su-csli).
                              ____________
                              LOGIC SEMINAR

      The Logic Seminar will resume October 7 in the mathematics seminar
   room.  It will meet every Monday at 4:15.  Contact Sol Feferman
   (SF@su-csli) for details.  Information on the first seminar follows.

       ``Prewellordering and the Generalized Reduction Property''
          Prof. Shaughan Lavine, Dept. of Mathematics, Stanford
                      Monday, Oct. 7, 4:15-5:30 P.M.
           Room 383N (faculty lounge, 3d floor, Math. Bldg.).
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