🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Nov18.170839.29220@psych.toronto.edu>
christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes:

>In article <1992Nov18.042158.17562@husc3.harvard.edu>
>zeleny@husc10.harvard.edu (Michael Zeleny) writes:

>>In article <1992Nov17.214321.18500@psych.toronto.edu>
>>christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes:

>>>>Indeed.  Logical reasoning tells me that if I walk out in front of a bus,
>>>>I'll get run over.  Does he mean that in the Far East this doesn't hold?

CG:
>>>LOGIC tells you this?!?!? Astounding! I'd love to see that logic. I've
>>>always thought this was contingent; true, but contingent. The things
>>>you learn on the net...

MZ:
>>Some people are vitalists; some are physicalists; a few gentle souls
>>are semanticalists.  Michael is a logicist, -- theirs is an ancient
>>and venerable breed, and I fail to see any egregious fault with the
>>views they espouse.  Read more Spinoza, Chris.

CG:
>The issue to which I was alluding was not whether natural language could
>ultimately be reduced to *some* logic. In fact I hope it can because, under
>at least one interpretation ofthe problem, the question amounts to whether
>there can be a theory of language at all. The problem is that the question
>of whether one gets run over if one steps in from of a bus, cannot be
>answered a priori, and therefore is not a logical truth (at least it can't
>be derived out of any of our present logics). Tally-ho!

Hmm... I dissent.  The fact that one gets run over if one steps in
front of a bus is arguably an analytic consequence of our concepts of
*bus-hood* and *stepping in front of*.  Consequently, it is knowable
_a priori_.

>-- 
>Christopher D. Green                christo@psych.toronto.edu
>Psychology Department               cgreen@lake.scar.utoronto.ca
>University of Toronto
>Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1

cordially,
mikhail zeleny@husc.harvard.edu
"Le cul des femmes est monotone comme l'esprit des hommes."