John F. Sowa wrote: (01)
[snip]
> I am strongly in favor of using logic, and I emphasize the point
> that logic is an abstraction from language (ex. words like and,
> or, not, if-then, some, and every). I also believe that diagrams,
> counting sticks, charts, and stones (i.e., 'calculi' in Latin)
> are extremely valuable as memory aids and reasoning aids.
>
>
It would be hard for me to prove, but I have the strong suspicion that
basic logic
*precedes* language. Or perhaps they evolved in concert, with language being
the vehicle necessary to transfer vital information to a larger group of
people
[more efficiently]. (02)
Offering another person a banana or an orange clearly requires no language
when that activity occurs in real time, with one in each hand. (03)
Assembling the elements required to start a fire -- flints, flammable
shavings, wood --
appears to be a moderately complex set of if-thens. (04)
"Some" [similar] mushrooms are edible, but others are not. (05)
"Every" large striped feline is a tiger ... and should be feared. (06)
There are issues of interpretation here, of course. But I vote for logic
preceding language. (07)
Phil (08)
-- (09)
Phil Murray
Chief Knowledge Architect
---------------------
The Semantic Advantage
"Turning Information into Assets"
phil.murray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
401-247-7899
Blog: http://semanticadvantage.wordpress.com
Web site: http://www.semanticadvantage.com (010)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Config Subscr: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/
To join: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid1J
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (011)
|