An Ontological Modelling of Reason-Based Preferences

We present an ontological framework for the reason-based model of individual preferences introduced by F. Dietrich and C. List. According to this perspective, an agent prefers x to y if and only if the importance of the reasons motivating x outweighs the importance of the reasons motivating y. Firstly, we represent motivating reasons as concepts in Description Logic, to enable a rich ontological theory that provides a clear and shareable semantics of reasons. Secondly, we present a model to express preferences on combinations of reasons. Finally, we discuss how preferences on alternatives depend on preferences on motivating reasons. We present the framework in a knowledge-dependent way, meaning that the ontological background constrains the definable preferences on alternatives and reasons.