Re: Poll - are you a platonist?


"Tony Orlow" <aeo6@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:MPG.1e5bd2d3d775885c98aa42@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Robert J. Kolker said:
Justin wrote:

Dirk Van de moortel <dirkvandemoortel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

: Discovered truths, based on invented axioms
: with agreed upon logic.

Is the logic discovered or invented?

Logic is a natural outgrowth of language. We have logic because we have
a rather rich language which is strong for making abstract assertions.

I say logic is a side effect.

Bob Kolker



I disagree. There was a very basic change in us that has resulted in all sorts
of manifestations, including language, music, economics, political structure,
planning, religion, art, philosophy, math, science etc etc etc. That change is
the ability to abstract a concept from the universe, which is the basis for
logic. You cannot have language without abstraction, and once you have
abstractions, they become objects which one can then abstract concepts from
further.

Now, this is not to say that language may not have been one of the prime
factors which made this logical ability advantageous enough for us to devote so
much hungry grey matter to, but unless we already have some abstract concepts
to communicate, there is really no advantage of true language over grunts and
finger-pointing. So, the conceptualization, the abstraction, came first and
gave rise to language, among many other manifestations of the basic ability to
abstract concepts from reality and treat these mental abstractions as objects
themselves.

I say language is a side effect.

Are side effects invented or discovered?


--
Smiles,

Absolutely :-)

Dirk Vdm


.

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