Paola, (01)
I've said many things at many different times. And in almost every
case, any summary in one sentence is going to be completely wrong. (02)
> you and others argued that all logical systems are based on FOL
> (if I remember correctly) and that logical reasoning is not
> different between east and west (03)
Both of those sentences are wrong, as stated. The number of
qualifications is enormous, and any simple statement like that
is going to be extremely misleading. (04)
If ever want to mention anything I said, please quote my exact
words. Following is a summary, which you can quote, if you like. (05)
John
___________________________________________________________________ (06)
A summary of the relationships between logics and natural languages (07)
By John F. Sowa (08)
1. Natural languages are *not* based on logic. Instead, all
versions of logic are *abstractions from* natural languages. (09)
2. There are many different versions of logic, and every one of
them is a stylized or simplified version of one of the many
ways of using a natural language. (Wittgenstein's term for
those ways is 'Sprachspiel' or 'language game'.) (010)
3. First-order logic is important because it is one of the
*simplest* versions of logic that can be abstracted from
any natural language. (011)
4. But there are other kinds of logics that can be abstracted
from natural languages, and they can be very useful for
different purposes. Most people commonly use different
logics and modes of reasoning for different purposes in
their daily lives. (012)
5. Different cultures in different parts of the world tend
to emphasize different ways of using language -- different
language games. Hence, they tend to have different
preferences for different versions of logic and reasoning. (013)
6. But some kinds of logic are widely used in many different
language games in all parts of the world. FOL, for example,
is the logic used to do arithmetic, and it is found in
every culture that uses money and bookkeeping. (014)
7. Since every formal logic is an abstraction from some way
of using a natural language for some useful purpose,
*every* version of logic is a natural logic. Some versions,
however, are more widely used than others. But even the
rare versions are natural for the purposes for which the
people who needed them developed them. (015)
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