Dick, (01)
The following principle is not what we're complaining about: (02)
RHM> As I've been telling Pat, my symbols are mapped to reality
> before I assemble them into sentences. My context expresses
> the meaning of my symbols. (03)
The mapping of symbols to reality is the foundation for all
semantics of any kind of language, natural or artificial. (04)
The meaning of a sentence is derived from the meaning of
its parts (words and phrases) according to the way those
parts are assembled by the grammar rules. (05)
That principle was developed in detail by the logicians of
the middle ages. The theory of the proposition by William
of Ockham (1323 AD) went into great detail with many, many
examples of how that is done for natural language (Latin). (06)
Ockham stated those principles precisely enough that a good
logician (such as C. S. Peirce) could apply them to logic
and develop an early example of model theoretic semantics.
Tarski did the same, but in more detail. (07)
Pat, Chris, and I agree with your principle as stated above.
But we suggest that you specify *how* that mapping could be
described in sufficient detail that a programmer could implement
it in a computer program. Ockham did a very thorough analysis
for a considerable subset of propositions stated in Latin. (08)
For English translations of his Summa Logicae, see my online
bibliography: (09)
http://www.jfsowa.com/bib.htm#NO (010)
The marker #NO goes directly to names beginning with O. (011)
For an English translation of Part I of the Summa Logicae, see (012)
http://pvspade.com/Logic/docs/ockham.pdf (013)
Part I analyzes terms -- words and phrases that are used in
syllogisms. That part illustrates Ockham's basic approach, but
the most important material for the structure of propositions is
in Part II, which is only available in paper. (014)
All we are asking for is a specification that reaches the
standards set by Ockham in 1323. If you do that, any decent
logician can do the rest. (015)
John (016)
PS: Ayn Rand and Ockham were both big fans of Aristotle,
so I'm sure that she would approve of your studying Ockham. (017)
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