Re: cukta

[SLAUGHTER <HALDANE@PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU>]

NSN>And this one of the areas I was thinking about, when I said the other day
NSN>that Lojban will probably succeed by failing in its avowed aims. Lojban
NSN>(I claim) is built on a particular view of semantics: one in which {le jei
NSN>da broda} is taken as 0 or 1 --- one in which you can make black or white
NSN>judgements. X either is a book, or isn't. In that context, it is
NSN>*meaningful* to ask "is a collection of blank pages bound together
NSN>a book or not?"

I just noticed that we may be confusing *semantic* truth with logical truth.  I
have read the introduction and first chapter of what appears to be an EXCELLENT
book called "Elementary Applied Symbolic Logic", which is a college level intro
textbook on logic using the formalism of symbolic predicate logic, whuch is
where we Lojbanists get our grammar from.  I read a definition of "predicate"
which dramatically clarified for me what we mean by predicate/bridi in Lojban.
The statement "I am a Klingon" is *logically* true, because it is gramatically
properly formed, hence semantic input (wherther I am a Klingon or not) gives
meaningful output.  "I am a sleeping" is *logically* false, because it fails to
parse (barring slang: "I am a-sleeping"; not what I meant).  Hence it always
gives 0/logical false regardless of input.  Of course, the "I
am a Klingon" is *semantically* false, because I am a human being.  The book
goes on to illustrate the difference between truth (0/1) and Truth (great
cosmic understanding)

I'd quote more directly, but the book is packed temporarily, as I'm moving, and
I will be glad to dig it out after the move (expect it to be available early
August)

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*     Bob Slaughter                         *  Model Railroading         *
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