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Ideas for 'works', 'fragments/reports' and 'Trees, Terms and Truth'

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3 ideas

5. Theory of Logic / E. Structures of Logic / 1. Logical Form
Logical syntax is actually close to surface linguistic form [Engelbretsen]
     Full Idea: The underlying logical syntax of language is close to the surface syntax of ordinary language.
     From: George Engelbretsen (Trees, Terms and Truth [2005], 5)
     A reaction: This is the boast of the Term logicians, in opposition to the strained and unnatural logical forms of predicate logic, which therefore don't give a good account of the way ordinary speakers reason. An attractive programme. 'Terms' are the key.
Propositions can be analysed as pairs of terms glued together by predication [Engelbretsen]
     Full Idea: Sommers's 'tree theory' of predication assumes that propositions can be analysed as pairs of terms joined by some kind of predicational glue.
     From: George Engelbretsen (Trees, Terms and Truth [2005], 2)
     A reaction: This is the basis of Sommers's upgraded Aristotelian logic, known as Term Logic. The idea of reasoning with 'terms', rather than with objects, predicates and quantifiers, seems to me very appealing. I think I reason more about facts than about objects.
5. Theory of Logic / E. Structures of Logic / 2. Logical Connectives / c. not
Standard logic only negates sentences, even via negated general terms or predicates [Engelbretsen]
     Full Idea: Standard logic recognises only one kind of negation: sentential negation. Consequently, negation of a general term/predicate always amounts to negation of the entire sentence.
     From: George Engelbretsen (Trees, Terms and Truth [2005], 3)