[lit-ideas] Re: Are all logical possibilities a result of some kind of lo...
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 19:47:57 EDT
In a message dated 5/1/2009 6:36:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
This would make the existence of contingent possibilities vital for ethics.
---
Well, yes. The issue is pretty complex.
I've just checked online and there is a pdf article on Wittgenstein on the
apriori. Not interesting per se, other than the discussion Kripke takes up
as to the _contingency_ of "The standard meter in Paris is one meter long".
sammelpunkt.philo.at:8080/1760/1/wenzel.pdf
--- But that is an example from "Philosophical Investigations", so perhaps
best to leave it out of the Tractatus picture.
In any case, reading this document above, I was again, and sorry to P.
Stone if he doesn't need the Gricean formula (excellent pun). It seems to
Wittgenstein (as Grice would have it) _was_ confused about 'implicature'. My
thoughts on _contingency_ etc. derive from, for one, a very insightful view of
these things by a linguist-only man, Noel Burton-Roberts, who teaches
linguistics (has a PhD from UCL) at Newcastle. Burton-Roberts considers some of
the 'oddity' of saying things like, "the necessary is contingent", etc.
(Note that 'the necessary is possible' makes perfect sense). I would be
careful also in applying 'necessity' to _alethic_ value only ("necessarily
true"). I for one follow Ramsey (with qualifications) theory of the redundant
theory of truth, and so I would like to _save_ some uses of "Necessarily,
..." that do _not_ apply to "true". ("Necessarily, a man needs a bow tie to
attend a prima alla Scala", say).
Grice avoided 'modalities' like the rats, and I have too, so far. The
introduction of the 'modal' operators is notably something that most sane
philosophers do _not_ need; and Grice (and myself) are more than pleased with
working with _first-order_ predicate calculus with identity" (but not
necessarily necessity). Indeed, his theory with Myro on the _contingency_ of
'identity' (as time-relative) may be an offshot of his scepticism to cover the
territory where an elephant may fear to tread.
I did learn Logic with 'contingency' and 'tautology', but I cannot find
Wittgenstein's use of 'contingent' in the German original. I agree with
Wittgenstein on the vacuity of tautologies. They surely don't speak about the
world. And Grice only could save them _via_ implicature (his two famous
examples, "War is war" and "women are women"). If one is not content with
subject-predicate tautologies, there's that delightful passage that Ramsey
quotes
"The song is very sad. Either it will bring tears to your eyes, or
else..." "Or else what", asked Alice. "Or else it won't, you know".
Cheers,
J. L. Speranza
Buenos Aires, Argentina (<----- if you must)
ps. Good Duffy's the laureate. I read for the first time (for a poet
laureate) Motion accepted the post on the condition it would be not 'for life'
but 10 years only. Apparently Duffy made similar arrangement?
--- Sorry to be treated as a pike, but don't mean to swallow _any_ minnow,
and wish C. Bruce can stay, yes. I'll do my best not to annoy him further.
And did he say why 'build' is not 'bilden' or 'gegenstand' is a total
crazyism?
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