Strawson: a major logician

If Grice is a 'minor logician' (literally: a practioner of 'logica minor' -- formal logic), Strawson must be a major one.

J notes:


"As said by Ayn Rand, that renowned Aristotelian, A is A! (actually we might debate that: blondes are blondes? Some blondes are more equal than others)."

Yes. Grice actually has to be given credit for what is known in the literature as the Grice-Myro theory of relative identity. They draw from Geach and Wiggins, but try to minimise their contributions.

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In Grice's view:

This blonde = This blonde

does not make sense most of the time. Naomi Watts, for example, who stars in Woody Allen, "You will meet a dark tall stranger" does not seem to me to be the blonde that SHE thinks she is. I have seen photos of this beautiful English lady where her blondeness is not so acute.

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Blonde = Blonde
Gentlemen prefer blonde.
Blonde --> Brunette.
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Blonde realised "Gentlmen prefer blondes, but they marry brunettes", and changed her colour correspondingly.

J notes:

"But A is a term, general, right. Algebraic variables, x y z, are much later, are they not (like Descartes or somethin)."

Yes. I would think Descartes. Recall his Cartesian coordinates. Why 'x' was chosen for 'variable' escapes me. In Greek, "X" is quite used ("Xenophon").

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J notes:

"I sort of agree [that Witters was confused]--having read the Witt. Poker, I thought him psychotic, or nearly so."

-- Yes. He was a very suffered type. Derek Jarman made a film about him. He called it, unimaginatively, "Wittgenstein". I would have called it "Insight and illusion" and rate it R.

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J notes:

"Then Uncle Bertie's not like a paragon of humanity either. For ...strict mathematical logic ...Boolos and Jeffrey will suffice."

Yes. Grice quotes from Boolos. Since this is Grice 1969, Boolos must have been a mere young graduate then, at Harvard.

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Grice also quotes from Harvard logician Parsons, and from Myro. But most importantly from BENSON MATES -- a genius -- that Grice met at UC/Berkeley. Grice relies exclusively on Mates, "Elementary Logic" for his idea of a formal system. And right he is too!

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J notes:

"Mill's inductive "methods" AFAIK do seem a bit Toulmin-like perhaps. Not staggering genius or a complete theory of probability, but somewhat useful--though most social science people tend to just rely on the APA format. I still respect Mill, to some degree, however dull. He detested tyrants of all types."

Yes. I don't think he wrote anything of much interest rather than the "System of Logic". The OED has a nice quote from him. On sousentendu, which is said to be a pre-Griceian remark.

Mill was involved with the logicians of the day; but since he was merely amateur and self-taught, and I don't think much of an academic type, he preferred to live an ordinary life, rather than a logician's life.

---- His "Examination of Hamilton's philosophy" is I think the source for his 'sousentendu' quote.

-- I have discussed elsewhere his "On Liberty" with Daniel Frederick, a die-hard libertarian.

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J notes:

"As far as picking cherries in the fields--well, philosophers in rice paddies, if the comrades were in charge--though probably fertilizing, more than harvesting. I need to return to arbeiten as well."

OK -- Great talking to you!

I will try to provoke in future blog posts, so keep an eye (or two)!