Now some of the `dpm`s we work with will be `bool dpm`s, which are functions from discourse possibilities to `bool`s (and discourse possibilities). It's tempting to think we might just work with `bool dpm`s instead of sets of possibilities. However, I don't think this can work. The reason why is that at a crucial point in GS&Vs semantics, we have to work with not just a *single* way of mutating or "extending" a discourse possibility, but a *range* of different ways to mutate the live discourse possibilities. So we do need to work with sets, after all.
- A set is just another monadic layer. We've already talked about list monads, and we can for these purposes just use list monads to represent set monads. Instead of sets of possibilities, let's work with sets of `dpm`s, that is, sets of discourse possibility monads, or computations on discourse possibilities.
+ A set is just another monadic layer. We've already talked about List monads, and we can for these purposes just use List monads to represent set monads. Instead of sets of possibilities, let's work with sets of `dpm`s, that is, sets of discourse possibility monads, or computations on discourse possibilities.
As I said, for simplicity, we'll represent sets using lists:
type 'a set = 'a list;;
- let empty_set : 'a set = [];;
- let unit_set (value: 'a) : 'a set = [value];;
- let bind_set (u: 'a set) (f: 'a -> 'b set) : 'b set =
+ let set_empty : 'a set = [];;
+ let set_unit (value: 'a) : 'a set = [value];;
+ let set_bind (u: 'a set) (f: 'a -> 'b set) : 'b set =
List.concat (List.map f u);;
* Reviewing: GS&V's "information states," which they notate using `s`, are sets of what they call "possibilities," and notate using `i`. Instead of sets of possibilities, which get updated to sets of other, "extended" possibilities, we'll work with sets of discourse possibility monads, which are functions from discourse possibilities to values and possibly "extended" discourse possibilities.
-* In def 2.5, GS&V say the denotation of an e-type constant <code>α</code> wrt a discourse possibility `(r, h, w)` is whatever entity the world `w` associates with <code>α</code>. Since we don't have worlds, this will just be an entity.
+* In def 2.5, GS&V say the denotation of an e-type constant <code>α</code> wrt a discourse possibility `(r, h, w)` is whatever entity the world `w` associates with <code>α</code>. Since we don't have worlds, this will just be an entity. (Hence, we're not representing any of the interesting phenomena about epistemic non-rigidity discussed in GS&V pp. 32ff.)
- They say the denotation of a predicate is whatever extension the world `w` associates with the predicate. Since we don't have worlds, this will just be an extension, or a function from entities to `bool`s.
+ GS&V say the denotation of a predicate is whatever extension the world `w` associates with the predicate. Since we don't have worlds, this will just be an extension, or a function from entities to `bool`s.
They say the denotation of a variable is the entity which the store `h` assigns to the index that the assignment function `r` assigns to the variable. In other words, if the variable is `'x'`, its denotation wrt `(r, h, w)` is `h[r['x']]`. In our OCaml implementation, that will be `List.nth h (r 'x')`.