Analogy by generalization—and the quest of the grail

Abstract

It is argued that a powerful kind of reasoning by analogy is provided by combining unification with most specific generalization. A revised version of an existing algorithm to compute the most specific generalization of terms is presented, which decides correctly whether or not new variables should be introduced in each case. Both unification and most specific generalization are extended to frames. It is indicated, as a research goal, the extension of these processes to more complex forms of knowledge representation, a particularly challenging example being the comparison of the structures of literary narratives.