[lit-ideas] Re: Hans Shuga
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:46:12 -0800
"Shuga" thought it important to distinguish the formal treatment of 'the'
('der', in German). According to _one_ account, 'the' comes out as a _term_
(this is the option Grice favoured). According to the other account, 'the'
(or 'der') comes out as a _quantifier_.
In symbols
(ix)Zx & Mx
there is an x such that x is the author of 'Sein und Zeit' and x wears a
moustache
You have an 'i' where (I think) you want an inverted iota (which I
can't reproduce for you). In the notation of Principia Mathematica,
this symbol is read as 'the,' and is used in the formal notation for
definite descriptions:
'(?x)
"Shuga" thought it important to distinguish the formal treatment of 'the'
('der', in German). According to _one_ account, 'the' comes out as a _term_
(this is the option Grice favoured). According to the other account, 'the'
(or 'der') comes out as a _quantifier_.
In symbols
(ix)Zx & Mx
there is an x such that x is the author of 'Sein und Zeit' and x wears a
moustache
You have an 'i' where (I think) you want an inverted iota (which I
can't reproduce for you). In the notation of Principia Mathematica,
this symbol is read as 'the,' and is used in the formal notation for
definite descriptions:
'(?x)
"Shuga" thought it important to distinguish the formal treatment of 'the'
('der', in German). According to _one_ account, 'the' comes out as a _term_
(this is the option Grice favoured). According to the other account, 'the'
(or 'der') comes out as a _quantifier_.
In symbols
(ix)Zx & Mx
there is an x such that x is the author of 'Sein und Zeit' and x wears a
moustache
You have an 'i' where (I think) you want an inverted iota (which I
can't reproduce for you). In the notation of Principia Mathematica,
this symbol is read as 'the,' and is used in the formal notation for
definite descriptions:
'(?x)?x' = 'the x such that ?x'
(Notation freaks will notice that my iota is right side up; the
reasons for this are too arcane for this discussion. It may also turn
out that what now looks like a _phi_ on this page will not make it
intact into every mailbox affiliated with this list.)
where the predicates Z and M are extensionally defined as:
Z: ... is the author of "Sein und Zeit"
M: ... wears a moustache.
These are not extensional definitions. An extensional definition, as
opposed to an intensional one, specifies its extension by listing
everything that the term picks out. 'Wears a moustache,' e.g., would
list Einstein, Theodore Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, usw. Extensional
definitions can be unduly cumbersome.
Robert Paul,
waiting out the cold,
somewhere south of Reed College
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