# Modeling Deontic Modal Logic in ASP

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05519 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05519/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 4 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Jul 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Constraint Answer Set Programming without Grounding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.11162/) (2018)
- [Justifications for Goal-Directed Constraint Answer Set Programming](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.10238/) (2020)
- [Modal Logic S5 Satisfiability in Answer Set Programming](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.04194/) (2021)
- [Deontic Paradoxes in ASP with Weak Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.15870/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We consider the problem of implementing deontic modal logic. We show how (deontic) modal operators can be elegantly and directly expressed using default negation (negation-as-failure) and strong negation present in answer set programming (ASP). We propose using global constraints of ASP to represent obligations, prohibitions, and permissions in deontic modal logic. We show that our proposed representation results in the various decades-old paradoxes of deontic modal logic being simply and elegantly resolved. Our method also serves as a means for modeling conditional obligations and conditional prohibitions in knowledge representation.