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Re: [ontolog-forum] Two

To: "John F. Sowa" <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:07:19 -0500
Message-id: <p06230904c29f00281306@[10.100.0.39]>
>Chris,
>
>I just wanted to comment on one point:
>
>>  On the whole, I suggest, it is probably better to re-do ones
>>  own logic from scratch than to try to read through the history
>>  of logic (not sure why one should need to read the history)
>>  and sort out the very small fraction that may be relevant.    (01)

Chris was making a rhetorical point by re-using my very words against 
me, with "logic" substituted for "metaphysics" throughout. I don't 
think he intended it to be taken literally.    (02)

Pat    (03)

>Santayana's response is appropriate:
>
>    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
>
>With respect to logic, the same ideas have been learned and
>forgotten repeatedly throughout the past 50 years of AI and
>computer science.  Unfortunately, each reinvention has usually
>been worse than the one that was forgotten.    (04)

But he could have cited Santayana back at me, also, with regard to 
metaphysics. So let me briefly reply to anyone who is inclined to do 
that: indeed: but in the case of descriptive metaphysics, repeating 
the history and remembering it (or studying it) will get you broadly 
similar answers, and its usually less work to (re)do it - or the 
parts of it that you actually need -  yourself, than to do all the 
reading.    (05)

Pat
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