Summary
The lecture deals with the problem of modelling time in decision processes. It is divided into three parts. The first part gives a survey of the concept of time in the history of thought and three concepts are identified: physical, perceived, structure of possibility. Then a short survey of the consideration given to time in ancient and modern logic. It is shown how modern model logic has produced a number of formalized languages which take into account temporal evolution and is providing a substantial back-up to the simulative languages of A.I. The second part analyses the time structure of decision making. With reference to a model “decision maker — system —ambient”, the times of the three terms of the model are discussed. The time of d.m. is shown to present all three aspects identified in the history of thought. The time of the systems or time horizon of the decision, is discussed under the aspects of perceived versus objective time, values in time, advantages and disadvantages of long-term vs. short-term decisions. The time of the ambient is considered in relation to the temporalized complexity of the world. The third part deals with the connections of time with uncertainty and with rationality. Uncertainty is discussed from the logical and informational points of view. A link is suggested between time and the fuzzy presentation of future events. Strategies for splitting the time horizon to better model uncertainties are also examined. Then the connection between the consideration given to time and the type of rationality adopted, sequential or synoptic, are discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Volta, G. (1986). Time and Decision. In: Hollnagel, E., Mancini, G., Woods, D.D. (eds) Intelligent Decision Support in Process Environments. NATO ASI Series, vol 21. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50329-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50329-0_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-50331-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-50329-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive