"a pretty good guide"
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Grammar as "a pretty good guide to logical form", Russell wrote in one of his moments. It was a quote that delighted Grice.
Now, how much of our conception of logical form is _English_? Or Indo-European in general? I don't know.
Suppose they tell us that a certain tribe in Polynesia do not go by "classical logic", when "interpreted in two-valued systems", as Grice writes in WoW:II.
I would tend to think that such a tribe cannot exist. But I would need to FIGHT to defend my position...
Etc.
So, when you next check a 'logical form' as used by a philosopher, share! Check how much of the 'logical form' is really language-independent, as it perhaps should be.
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We say Tractatus; you say Trac-tah-tus.
ReplyDeleteIf formal logic can't map language (ie syntax, propositions, statements, etc)...then what is it good for? Maybe helping Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc optimize their warez. An insignificant play of tautologies, JLS? (which still faces the Church/Turing issues...and Goedel--tho' I don't think Goedel the final word--proof to be posted at a later date).
That said, there are weirdnesses to logic's relation to language many overlook--
law of excluded middle--A or not-A.
The light's on or off.
But what about....she loves him, OR she loves not?? Hardly discrete in the sense that the circuit is on or off. Or even..Its raining, or its not raining?? Well its raining on Elm Street; two blocks away on Cedar, it's not. Would have to define a domain or something
The myth of the discrete