Motivation
Consider the statement: "I am hungry." Though its meaning is constant in time, the truth value of the statement can vary in time. Sometimes the statement is true, and sometimes the statement is false, but the statement is never true and false simultaneously. In a temporal logic, statements can have a truth value which can vary in time. Contrast this with an atemporal logic, which can only discuss statements whose truth value is constant in time. This treatment of truth values over time differentiates temporal logic from computational verb logic.
Temporal logic always has the ability to reason about a time line. So-called linear time logics are restricted to this type of reasoning. Branching logics, however, can reason about multiple time lines. This presupposes an environment that may act unpredictably. To continue the example, in a branching logic we may state that "there is a possibility that I will stay hungry forever." We may also state that "there is a possibility that eventually I am no longer hungry." If we do not know whether or not I will ever get fed, these statements are both true some times.
Read more about this topic: Temporal Logic
Famous quotes containing the word motivation:
“Self-determination has to mean that the leader is your individual gut, and heart, and mind or we’re talking about power, again, and its rather well-known impurities. Who is really going to care whether you live or die and who is going to know the most intimate motivation for your laughter and your tears is the only person to be trusted to speak for you and to decide what you will or will not do.”
—June Jordan (b. 1939)