Abstract The aim of this paper is to show that logic programming is a powerful tool for representing scientific theories and for scientific inference. In a logic program it is possible to encode the qualitative and quantitative components of a theory in first order predicate logic, which is a highly expressive formal language. A theory program can then be handed to an algorithm that reasons about the theory. We discuss the advantages of logic programming with regard to building formal theories and present a novel software package for scientific inference: Theory Toolbox. Theory Toolbox can derive any conclusions that are entailed by a theory, explain why a certain conclusion follows from a theory, and evaluate a theory with regard to its internal coherence and generalizability. Because logic is, or should be, a cornerstone of scientific practice, we believe that our paper can make an important contribution to scientific psychology.

中文翻译：

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使用逻辑编程进行理论表示和科学推理

摘要 本文的目的是表明逻辑编程是表示科学理论和科学推理的强大工具。在逻辑程序中，可以将理论的定性和定量成分编码为一阶谓词逻辑，这是一种高度表达的形式语言。然后可以将理论程序交给算法来推理该理论。我们讨论了逻辑编程在构建形式理论方面的优势，并提出了一种用于科学推理的新颖软件包：理论工具箱。Theory Toolbox 可以推导出一个理论所包含的任何结论，解释为什么某个结论来自一个理论，并评估一个理论的内部连贯性和概括性。因为逻辑是或应该是科学实践的基石，