
Qualitative Representations
How People Reason and Learn about the Continuous World
Kenneth D. Forbus(Author)
MIT Press
Published on 28. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
440 pages
978-0-262-05576-5 (ISBN)
Description
An argument that qualitative representations--symbolic representations that carve continuous phenomena into meaningful units--are central to human cognition. In this book, Kenneth Forbus proposes that qualitative representations hold the key to one of the deepest mysteries of cognitive science: how we reason and learn about the continuous phenomena surrounding us. Forbus argues that qualitative representations--symbolic representations that carve continuous phenomena into meaningful units--are central to human cognition. Qualitative representations provide a basis for commonsense reasoning, because they enable practical reasoning with very little data; this makes qualitative representations a useful component of natural language semantics. Qualitative representations also provide a foundation for expert reasoning in science and engineering by making explicit the broad categories of things that might happen and enabling causal models that help guide the application of more quantitative knowledge as needed. Qualitative representations are important for creating more human-like artificial intelligence systems with capabilities for spatial reasoning, vision, question answering, and understanding natural language. Forbus discusses, among other topics, basic ideas of knowledge representation and reasoning; qualitative process theory; qualitative simulation and reasoning about change; compositional modeling; qualitative spatial reasoning; and learning and conceptual change. His argument is notable both for presenting an approach to qualitative reasoning in which analogical reasoning and learning play crucial roles and for marshaling a wide variety of evidence, including the performance of AI systems. Cognitive scientists will find Forbus's account of qualitative representations illuminating; AI scientists will value Forbus's new approach to qualitative representations and the overview he offers.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge (Massachusetts)
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
713 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-05576-5 (9780262055765)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2019
MIT Press
€58.99
Available for download
Person
Kenneth D. Forbus is Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Education at Northwestern University. He is the coauthor of Building Problem Solvers and the coeditor of Smart Machines in Education, both published by the MIT Press.
Author
Walter P. Murphy Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceNorthwestern University