1st Edition

The Truth Value Algebra of Type-2 Fuzzy Sets Order Convolutions of Functions on the Unit Interval

    254 Pages 30 B/W Illustrations
    by Chapman & Hall

    Type-2 fuzzy sets extend both ordinary and interval-valued fuzzy sets to allow distributions, rather than single values, as degrees of membership. Computations with these truth values are governed by the truth value algebra of type-2 fuzzy sets. The Truth Value Algebra of Type-2 Fuzzy Sets: Order Convolutions of Functions on the Unit Interval explores the fundamental properties of this algebra and the role of these properties in applications.

    Accessible to anyone with a standard undergraduate mathematics background, this self-contained book offers several options for a one- or two-semester course. It covers topics increasingly used in fuzzy set theory, such as lattice theory, analysis, category theory, and universal algebra. The book discusses the basics of the type-2 truth value algebra, its subalgebra of convex normal functions, and their applications. It also examines the truth value algebra from a more algebraic and axiomatic view.

    The Algebra of Truth Values
    Preliminaries
    Classical and fuzzy subsets
    The truth value algebra of type-2 fuzzy sets
    Simplifying the operations
    Examples

    Properties of the Type-2 Truth Value Algebra
    Preliminaries
    Basic observations
    Properties of the operations
    Two partial orderings
    Fragments of distributivity

    Subalgebras of the Type-2 Truth Value Algebra
    Preliminaries
    Type-1 fuzzy sets
    Interval-valued fuzzy sets
    Normal functions
    Convex functions
    Convex normal functions
    Endmaximal functions
    The algebra of sets
    Functions with finite support

    Automorphisms
    Preliminaries
    Sets, fuzzy sets, and interval-valued fuzzy sets
    Automorphisms of M with the pointwise operations
    Characterizing certain elements of M
    Automorphisms of M with the convolution operations
    Characteristic subalgebras of M

    T-Norms and T-Conorms
    Preliminaries
    Triangular norms and conorms
    T-norms and t-conorms on intervals
    Convolutions of t-norms and t-conorms
    Convolutions of continuous t-norms and t-conorms
    T-norms and t-conorms on L

    Convex Normal Functions
    Preliminaries
    Straightening the order
    Realizing L as an algebra of decreasing functions
    Completeness of L
    Convex normal upper semicontinuous functions
    Agreement convexly almost everywhere
    Metric and topological properties
    T-norms and t-conorms

    Varieties Related to M
    Preliminaries
    The variety V(M)
    Local finiteness
    A syntactic decision procedure
    The algebra E of sets in M
    Complex algebras of chains
    Varieties and complex algebras of chains
    The algebras 23 and 25 revisited

    Type-2 Fuzzy Sets and Bichains
    Preliminaries
    Birkhoff systems and bichains
    Varieties of Birkhoff systems
    Splitting bichains
    Toward an equational basis

    Categories of Fuzzy Relations
    Preliminaries
    Fuzzy relations
    Rule bases and fuzzy control
    Additional variables
    The type-2 setting
    Symmetric monoidal categories

    The Finite Case
    Preliminaries
    Finite type-2 algebras
    Subalgebras
    The partial orders determined by convolutions
    The double order
    Varieties related to mn
    The automorphism group of mn
    Convex normal functions
    The De Morgan algebras H(mn)

    Appendix: Properties of the Operations on M

    Bibliography

    Index

    Summary and Exercises appear at the end of each chapter.

    Biography

    John Harding is a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at New Mexico State University. He is the author/coauthor of roughly 70 papers, president of the International Quantum Structures Association, and member of the editorial board of Order and the advisory board of Mathematica Slovaca. His research focuses on order theory and its applications, particularly applications to topology and logic, the foundations of quantum mechanics, completions, and fuzzy sets. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from McMaster University.

    Carol Walker was a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at New Mexico State University before retiring in 1996. She was department head for 14 years and associate dean of arts and sciences and director of the Arts and Sciences Research Center for three years. She is the author/coauthor of more than 35 papers as well as several textbooks and technical manuals. Her research focuses on algebra, including abelian group theory, applications of category theory to abelian groups and modules, and algebraic aspects of the mathematics of fuzzy sets. She earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from New Mexico State University.

    Elbert Walker was a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at New Mexico State University before retiring in 1987. He then worked at the U.S. National Science Foundation for two years. He is the author/coauthor of about 95 research papers and several books. His research interests include abelian group theory, statistics, and the mathematics of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Kansas.

    "This book, written by experts in algebra, is a comprehensive and original treatment of operations on fuzzy sets of type-2, i.e., fuzzy sets whose membership degrees are fuzzy sets of the unit interval. The theoretical material in the book is useful for practitioners of fuzzy modeling and inference in computer science, engineering, and social sciences. The book could also be used as a text for a special topics course in algebra."
    —Hung T. Nguyen, Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Sciences, New Mexico State University

    "At the beginning of fuzzy set theory, some easy results were published and this field was not fully respected by mathematicians. This opinion has changed thanks to deep mathematical results that cannot be ignored as ‘cheap’ or ‘easy.’ … However, a deep algebraic approach to fuzzy sets was limited to special cases, in particular MV-algebras (Roberto Cignoli, Itala D’Ottaviano, and Daniele Mundici). Experienced algebraists have now contributed to filling in this gap. The authors of this book show how much general algebra can say about fuzzy truth values. On the other hand, fuzzy concepts contribute by interesting examples of algebras, automorphisms, varieties, categories, etc.
    The book is based on decades of investigation performed by leading experts in the field. They present the latest results in a form readable by all mathematicians, starting from upper undergraduate level. The presentation of ideas is surprisingly easy to follow, although it proceeds to advanced theoretical results. The organization of the material is very carefully elaborated.
    Type-2 fuzzy sets give rise to rather complex algebras, while the mainstream of research deals with the easier case of type-1 fuzzy sets; nevertheless, the book contributes also to this simpler discipline. Readers will be surprised how rich this topic is and how advanced knowledge has been collected recently.
    Open questions and suggestions for further investigation are presented and they inspire future research. The book will certainly influence the following decade of research of fuzzy logical operations … ."
    —Professor Mirko Navara, Department of Cybernetics, Czech Technical University

    "The Truth Value Algebra of Type-2 Fuzzy Sets is an intensive study of the algebraic structure of Map(I; I). It is based on results of the authors and also other researchers in the field … . This book presents a self-contained course for readers who have successfully completed undergraduate math."
    —Dr. Rudolf Seising, Professor for the History of Science, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, and Affiliated Researcher, European Centre for Soft Computing