The most radical assault on reason consists in trying to put in doubt the laws of thought, for these are indeed the foundations of all rational discourse. First, the law of identity is denied by saying that things are never quite what they seem to be, or that what they are is closer to grey …
Blog posts : "logic"
2. Clarifying contradiction
1. Dialectic
The three “Laws of Thought” may be briefly explicated as follows:
- Thesis: there are certain appearances; appearances appear.
- Antithesis: there are incompatibilities between certain of these appearances; in such cases, one or both of them must be false.
- Syn…
3. Clarifying negation
1. Negation in adduction
Concepts and theories are hypothetical constructs. They cannot (for the most part) be proven (definitely, once and for all), but only repeatedly confirmed by experience. This is the positive side of adduction, presenting evidence in support of rational constru…
9. More on the Russell paradox
1. My resolution of the Russell paradox
My resolution of the Russel paradox is, simply put, that no class is, or can ever be, a member of itself. Self-membership is unconscionable. It is therefore no surprise that the unthinking adoption of the idea of self-membership by Russell led…
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