Conditional event algebra

A standard, Boolean algebra of events is a set of events related to one another by the familiar operations
and, or, and not. A conditional event algebra (CEA) contains not just ordinary events but also conditional
events, which have the form "if A, then B". The usual purpose of a CEA is to enable the defining of a
probability function, P, that satisfies the equation P(if A then B) = P(A and B) / P(A).

Motivation
In standard probability theory, an event is a set of outcomes, any one of which would be an occurrence of
the event. P(A), the probability of event A, is the sum of the probabilities of all A-outcomes, P(B) is the sum
of the probabilities of all B-outcomes, and P(A and B) is the sum of the probabilities of all outcomes that are
both A-outcomes and B-outcomes. In other words, and, customarily represented by the logical symbol ∧, is
interpreted as set intersection: P(A ∧ B) = P(A ∩ B). In the same vein, or, ∨, becomes set union, ∪, and
not, ¬, becomes set complementation, ′. Any combination of events using the operations and, or, and not is
also an event, and assigning probabilities to all outcomes generates a probability for every event. In
technical terms, this means that the set of events and the three operations together constitute a Boolean
algebra of sets, with an associated probability function.

P(if A, then B) is normally interpreted not as an ordinary probability—not, specifically, as P(A′ ∨ B)—but
as the conditional probability of B given A, P(B | A) = P(A ∧ B) / P(A). This raises a question: what about a
probability like P(if A, then B, and if C, then D)? For this, there is no standard answer. What would be
needed, for consistency, is a treatment of if-then as a binary operation, →, such that for conditional events A
→ B and C → D, P(A → B) = P(B | A), P(C → D) = P(D | C), and P((A → B) ∧ (C → D)) is well-defined
and reasonable. This treatment is what conditional event algebras try to provide.[1]

Types of conditional event algebra

Ideally, a conditional event algebra, or CEA, would support a probability function that meets three
conditions:

1. The probability function validates the usual axioms.

2. For any two ordinary events A and B, if P(A) > 0, then P(A → B) = P(B | A) = P(A ∧ B) /
P(A).

3. For ordinary event A and acceptable probability function P, if P(A) > 0, then PA = P ( ⋅ |
A), the function produced by conditioning on A, is also an acceptable probability function.

However, David Lewis showed (1976) that those conditions can only be met when there are just two
possible outcomes—as with, say, a single coin flip. With three or more possible outcomes, constructing a
probability function requires choosing which of the above three conditions to violate. Interpreting A → B as
A′ ∪ B produces an ordinary Boolean algebra that violates 2. With CEAs, the choice is between 1 and 3.

Tri-event CEAs
Tri-event CEAs take their inspiration from three-valued logic, where the identification of logical
conjunction, disjunction, and negation with simple set operations no longer applies. For ordinary events A
and B, the tri-event A → B occurs when A and B both occur, fails to occur when A occurs but B does not,
and is undecided when A fails to occur. (The term “tri-event” comes from de Finetti (1935): triévénement.)
Ordinary events, which are never undecided, are incorporated into the algebra as tri-events conditional on
Ω, the vacuous event represented by the entire sample space of outcomes; thus, A becomes Ω → A.

Since there are many three-valued logics, there are many possible tri-event algebras. Two types, however,
have attracted more interest than the others. In one type, A ∧ B and A ∨ B are each undecided only when
both A and B are undecided; when just one of them is, the conjunction or disjunction follows the other
conjunct or disjunct. When negation is handled in the obvious way, with ¬A undecided just in case A is,
this type of tri-event algebra corresponds to a three-valued logic logic proposed by Sobociński (1920) and
favored by Belnap (1973), and also implied by Adams’s (1975) “quasi-conjunction” for conditionals. Schay
(1968) was the first to propose an algebraic treatment, which Calabrese (1987) developed more properly.[2]

The other type of tri-event CEA treats negation the same way as the first, but it treats conjunction and
disjunction as min and max functions, respectively, with occurrence as the high value, failure as the low
value, and undecidedness in between. This type of tri-event algebra corresponds to a three-valued logic
proposed by Łukasiewicz (1920) and also favored by de Finetti (1935). Goodman, Nguyen and Walker
(1991) eventually provided the algebraic formulation.

The probability of any tri-event is defined as the probability that it occurs divided by the probability that it
either occurs or fails to occur.[3] With this convention, conditions 2 and 3 above are satisfied by the two
leading tri-event CEA types. Condition 1, however, fails. In a Sobociński-type algebra, ∧ does not
distribute over ∨, so P((A ∧ (B ∨ C)) and P((A ∧ B) ∨ (A ∧ C)) need not be equal.[4] In a Łukasiewicz-
type algebra, ∧ distributes over ∨ but not over exclusive or, (A B = (A ∧ ¬B) ∨ (¬A ∧ B)).[5] Also,
tri-event CEAs are not complemented lattices, only pseudocomplemented, because in general, (A → B) ∧
¬(A → B) cannot occur but can be undecided and therefore is not identical to Ω → ∅, the bottom element
of the lattice. This means that P(C) and P(C ((A → B) ∧ ¬(A → B))) can differ, when classically they
would not.

Product-space CEAs

If P(if A, then B) is thought of as the probability of A-and-B occurring before A-and-not-B in a series of
trials, this can be calculated as an infinite sum of simple probabilities: the probability of A-and-B on the first
trial, plus the probability of not-A (and either B or not-B) on the first trial and A-and-B on the second, plus
the probability of not-A on the first two trials and A-and-B on the third, and so on—that is, P(A ∧ B) +
P(¬A)P(A ∧ B) + P(¬A)2 P(A ∧ B) + …, or, in factored form, P(A ∧ B)[1 + P(¬A) + P(¬A)2 + …]. Since
the second factor is the Maclaurin series expansion of 1 / [1 – P(¬A)] = 1 / P(A), the infinite sum equals
P(A ∧ B) / P(A) = P(B |A).

The infinite sum is itself is a simple probability, but with the sample space now containing not ordinary
outcomes of single trials but infinite sequences of ordinary outcomes. Thus the conditional probability P(B
|A) is turned into simple probability P(B → A) by replacing Ω, the sample space of all ordinary outcomes,
with Ω*, the sample space of all sequences of ordinary outcomes, and by identifying conditional event A →
B with the set of sequences where the first (A ∧ B)-outcome comes before the first (A ∧ ¬B)-outcome. In
Cartesian-product notation, Ω* = Ω × Ω × Ω × …, and A → B is the infinite union [(A ∩ B) × Ω × Ω × …]
∪ [A′ × (A ∩ B) × Ω × Ω × …] ∪ [A′ × A′ × (A ∩ B) × Ω × Ω × …] ∪ …. Unconditional event A is, again,
represented by conditional event Ω → A.[6] Unlike tri-event CEAs, this type of CEA supports the
identification of ∧, ∨, and ¬ with the familiar operations ∩, ∪, and ′ not just for ordinary, unconditional
events but for conditional ones, as well. Because Ω* is a space defined by an infinitely long Cartesian
product, the Boolean algebra of conditional-event subsets of Ω* is called a product-space CEA. This type
of CEA was introduced by van Fraassen (1976), in response to Lewis’s result, and was later discovered
independently by Goodman and Nguyen (1994).

The probability functions associated with product-space CEAs satisfy conditions 1 and 2 above. However,
given probability function P that satisfies conditions 1 and 2, if P(A) > 0, it can be shown that PA(C | B) =
P(C | A ∧ B) and PA(B → C) = P(B ∧ C | A) + P(B′ | A)P(C | B).[7] If A, B and C are pairwise compatible
but P(A ∧ B ∧ C) = 0, then P(C | A ∧ B) = P(B ∧ C | A) = 0 but P(B′ | A)P (C | B) > 0. Therefore, PA(B
→ C) does not reliably equal PA(C | B). Since PA fails condition 2, P fails condition 3.

Nested if–thens

What about nested conditional constructions? In a tri-event CEA, right-nested constructions are handled
more or less automatically, since it is natural to say that A → (B → C) takes the value of B → C (possibly
undecided) when A is true and is undecided when A is false. Left-nesting, however, requires a more
deliberate choice: when A → B is undecided, should (A → B) → C be undecided, or should it take the
value of C? Opinions vary. Calabrese adopts the latter view, identifying (A → B) → (C → D) with ((¬A ∨
B) ∧ C) → D.[8]

With a product-space CEA, nested conditionals call for nested sequence-constructions: evaluating P((A →
B) → (C → D)) requires a sample space of metasequences of sequences of ordinary outcomes. The
probabilities of the ordinary sequences are calculated as before. Given a series of trials where the outcomes
are sequences of ordinary outcomes, P((A → B) → (C → D)) is P(C → D | A → B) = P((A → B) ∧ (C →
D)) / P(A → B), the probability that an ((A → B) ∧ (C → B))-sequence will be encountered before an ((A
→ B) ∧ ¬(C → B))-sequence. Higher-order-iterations of conditionals require higher-order metasequential
constructions.[9]

In either of the two leading types of tri-event CEA, A → (B → C) = (A ∧ B) → C.[10] Product space
CEAs, on the other hand, do not support this identity. The latter fact can be inferred from the failure,
already noted, of PA(B → C) to equal PA(C | B), since PA(C | B) = P((A ∧ B) → C) and PA(B → C) = P(A
→ (B → C)). For a direct analysis, however, consider a metasequence whose first member-sequence starts
with an (A ∧ ¬B ∧ C)-outcome, followed by a (¬A ∧ B ∧ C)-outcome, followed by an (A ∧ B ∧ ¬C)-
outcome. That metasequence will belong to the event A → (B → C), because the first member-sequence is
an ((A ∧ (B → C))-sequence, but the metasequence will not belong to the event (A ∧ B) → C, because the
first member-sequence is an ((A ∧ B) → ¬C)-sequence.

Applications
The initial impetus for CEAs is theoretical—namely, the challenge of responding to the Lewis result—but
practical applications have been proposed. If, for instance, events A and C involve signals emitted by
military radar stations, and events B and D involve missile launches, an opposing military force with an AI-
controlled missile defense system may want the system to be able to calculate P((A → B) ∧ (C → D))
and/or P((A → B) → (C → D)).[11] Other applications range from image interpretation[12] to the detection
of denial-of-service attacks on computer networks.[13]

Notes
1. The CEA literature actually uses (B | A) to mean “if A, then B,” but this convention makes
certain points harder to state clearly. For that reason, and for improved legibility, the present
 article uses the more familiar A → B.
2. Schay actually specified two algebras, one associated with ∧ and the other with ∨. This line
of development has not been followed by others.
3. De Finetti 1935, p. 184. Technically, there are two probability functions: P, which ranges over
ordinary events, and P*, which is determined by P and ranges over conditional events. That
notational subtlety will be ignored here.
4. Consider the case where A is true, B is undecided, and C is false.
5. With A B undecided when either A or B is, compare A ∧ (B C) and (A ∧ B) (A ∧ C)
when A is undecided and B and C are both true.
6. Since Ω ∩ A = A and Ω′ = ∅, the infinite union representing Ω → A reduces to A × Ω × Ω × Ω
× ….
7. Goodman, Mahler and Nguyen 1999, p. 7, provides the formula needed for the latter result:
P((A → B) ∧ (C → D)) = [P(A ∧ B ∧ C ∧ D) + P(A′ ∧ C ∧ D)P(B | A) + P(C′ ∧ A ∧ B)P(D | C)]
/ P(A ∨ C). The special case of interest is P((Ω → A) ∧ (B → C)).
8. Calabrese 1987, p. 217.
9. Goodman and Nguyen 1995, pp. 281-283.
10. This identity corresponds in logic to the law of import-export, as it is called.
11. Goodman, Mahler and Nguyen 1999.
12. Kelly, Derin and Gong 1999.
13. Sun et al 2014.

References
Adams, E. W. 1975. The Logic of Conditionals. D. Reidel, Dordrecht.

Bamber, D., Goodman, I. R. and Nguyen, H. T. 2004. "Deduction from Conditional Knowledge". Soft
Computing 8: 247–255.

Belnap, N. D. 1973. "Restricted quantification and conditional assertion", in H. Leblanc (ed.), Truth,
Syntax and Modality North-Holland, Amsterdam. 48–75.

Calabrese, P. 1987. "An algebraic synthesis of the foundations of logic and probability". Information
Sciences 42:187-237.

de Finetti, Bruno. 1935. "La logique de la probabilité". Actes du Congrès International Philosophie
Scientifique. Paris.

van Fraassen, Bas C. 1976. "Probabilities of conditionals” in W. L. Harper and C. A. Hooker (eds.),
Foundations of Probability Theory, Statistical Inference, and Statistical Theories of Science, Vol. I. D.
Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 261-308.

Goodman, I. R., Mahler, R. P. S. and Nguyen, H. T. 1999. "What is conditional event algebra and why
should you care?" SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 3720.

Goodman, I. R., Nguyen, H. T. and Walker, E .A. 1991. Conditional Inference and Logic for Intelligent
Systems: A Theory of Measure-Free Conditioning. Office of Chief of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia.

Goodman, I. R. and Nguyen, H. T. 1994. "A theory of conditional information for probabilistic inference in
intelligent systems: II, Product space approach; III Mathematical appendix". Information Sciences 76:13-
42; 75: 253-277.
Goodman, I. R. and Nguyen, H. T. 1995. "Mathematical foundations of conditionals and their probabilistic
assignments". International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-based Systems 3(3): 247-
339

Kelly, P. A., Derin, H., and Gong, W.-B. 1999. "Some applications of conditional events and random sets
for image estimation and system modeling". SPIE Proceedings 3720: 14-24.

Łukasiewicz, J. 1920. "O logice trójwartościowej" (in Polish). Ruch Filozoficzny 5:170–171. English
translation: "On three-valued logic", in L. Borkowski (ed.), Selected works by Jan Łukasiewicz, North–
Holland, Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 87–88. ISBN 0-7204-2252-3

Schay, Geza. 1968. "An algebra of conditional events". Journal of Mathematical Analysis and
Applications 24: 334-344.

Sobociński, B. 1952. "Axiomatization of a partial system of three-valued calculus of propositions". Journal

of Computing Systems 1(1):23-55.

Sun, D., Yang, K., Jing, X., Lv, B., and Wang, Y. 2014. "Abnormal network traffic detection based on
conditional event algebra". Applied Mechanics and Materials 644-650: 1093-1099.

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