?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Inference+to+the+best+plan%3A+A+coherence+theory+of+decision.&rft.creator=Thagard%2C+P.&rft.creator=Millgram%2C+E.&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Science&rft.description=In+their+introduction+to+this+volume%2C+Ram+and+Leake+usefully+distinguish+between+task+goals+and+learning+goals.+Task+goals+are+desired+results+or+states+in+an+external+world%2C+while+learning+goals+are+desired+mental+states+that+a+learner+seeks+to+acquire+as+part+of+the+accomplishment+of+task+goals.+We+agree+with+the+fundamental+claim+that+learning+is+an+active+and+strategic+process+that+takes+place+in+the+context+of+tasks+and+goals+(see+also+Holland%2C+Holyoak%2C+Nisbett%2C+and+Thagard%2C+1986).+But+there+are+important+questions+about+the+nature+of+goals+that+have+rarely+been+addressed.+First%2C+how+can+a+cognitive+system+deal+with+incompatible+task+goals%3F+Someone+may+want+both+to+get+lots+of+research+done+and+to+relax+and+have+fun+with+his+or+her+friends.+Learning+how+to+accomplish+both+these+tasks+will+take+place+in+the+context+of+goals+that+cannot+be+fully+realized+together.+Second%2C+how+are+goals+chosen+in+the+first+place+and+why+are+some+goals+judged+to+be+more+important+than+others%3F+People+do+not+simply+come+equipped+with+goals+and+priorities%3A+we+sometimes+have+to+learn+what+is+important+to+us+by+adjusting+the+importance+of+goals+in+the+context+of+other+compatible+and+incompatible+goals.+This+paper+presents+a+theory+and+a+computational+model+of+how+goals+can+be+adopted+or+rejected+in+the+context+of+decision+making.+In+contrast+to+classical+decision+theory%2C+it+views+decision+making+as+a+process+not+only+of+choosing+actions+but+also+of+evaluating+goals.+Our+theory+can+therefore+be+construed+as+concerned+with+the+goal-directed+learning+of+goals.&rft.publisher=Cambridge%2C+MA.+MIT+Press&rft.contributor=Ram%2C+A.&rft.contributor=Leake%2C+D.+B.&rft.date=1997&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F670%2F1%2FInference_Plan.html&rft.identifier=++Thagard%2C+P.+and+Millgram%2C+E.++(1997)+Inference+to+the+best+plan%3A+A+coherence+theory+of+decision.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F670%2F