We can distinguish two types of canonicalization: logical normalization and conceptual canonicalization.  An example of logical normalization in sentential logic and FOL is the conversion to clause form (Skolemized, quantifier-free conjunctive normal form). The rationale is that reducing multiple logically equivalent formulas to a single form reduces the combinatorial complexity of inference. However, full normalization may not be possible in an intensional logic with a “fine-grained” semantics, where for instance a belief that the Earth is round may differ semantically from the belief that the Earth is round and the Moon is either flat or not flat, despite the logical equivalence of those beliefs.