Re: [ontolog-forum] the justfication for chinese logic/mould theories

[Paola Di Maio <paola.dimaio@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry John
didnt mean to mischarachterize what you said
rather excited about finding arguments in support 
of some old  conjectures and
trivializing a little, with statements  that were intended  as generalizations of even broader lines throughout various posts
thanks for the additional quote for future reference
apologies again
best
p

On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 2:28 AM, John F. Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Paola,

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.

> 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

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.

If ever want to mention anything I said, please quote my exact
words.  Following is a summary, which you can quote, if you like.

John
___________________________________________________________________

A summary of the relationships between logics and natural languages

By John F. Sowa

 1. Natural languages are *not* based on logic.  Instead, all
   versions of logic are *abstractions from* natural languages.

 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'.)

 3. First-order logic is important because it is one of the
   *simplest* versions of logic that can be abstracted from
   any natural language.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

-- 
Paola Di Maio
**************************************************
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert Einstein
**************************************************

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