Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'German Philosophy: a very short introduction', 'An Introduction to Modal Logic' and 'Notes on Logic'

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9 ideas

4. Formal Logic / B. Propositional Logic PL / 2. Tools of Propositional Logic / b. Terminology of PL
A 'value-assignment' (V) is when to each variable in the set V assigns either the value 1 or the value 0 [Hughes/Cresswell]
     Full Idea: A 'value-assignment' (V) is when to each variable in the set V assigns either the value 1 or the value 0.
     From: GE Hughes/M Cresswell (An Introduction to Modal Logic [1968], Ch.1)
     A reaction: In the interpreted version of the logic, 1 and 0 would become T (true) and F (false). The procedure seems to be called nowadays a 'valuation'.
4. Formal Logic / B. Propositional Logic PL / 2. Tools of Propositional Logic / d. Basic theorems of PL
The Law of Transposition says (P→Q) → (¬Q→¬P) [Hughes/Cresswell]
     Full Idea: The Law of Transposition says that (P→Q) → (¬Q→¬P).
     From: GE Hughes/M Cresswell (An Introduction to Modal Logic [1968], Ch.1)
     A reaction: That is, if the consequent (Q) of a conditional is false, then the antecedent (P) must have been false.
4. Formal Logic / B. Propositional Logic PL / 4. Soundness of PL
The rules preserve validity from the axioms, so no thesis negates any other thesis [Hughes/Cresswell]
     Full Idea: An axiomatic system is most naturally consistent iff no thesis is the negation of another thesis. It can be shown that every axiom is valid, that the transformation rules are validity-preserving, and if a wff α is valid, then ¬α is not valid.
     From: GE Hughes/M Cresswell (An Introduction to Modal Logic [1968], Ch.1)
     A reaction: [The labels 'soundness' and 'consistency' seem interchangeable here, with the former nowadays preferred]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 4. Completeness
A system is 'weakly' complete if all wffs are derivable, and 'strongly' if theses are maximised [Hughes/Cresswell]
     Full Idea: To say that an axiom system is 'weakly complete' is to say that every valid wff of the system is derivable as a thesis. ..The system is 'strongly complete' if it cannot have any more theses than it has without falling into inconsistency.
     From: GE Hughes/M Cresswell (An Introduction to Modal Logic [1968], Ch.1)
     A reaction: [They go on to say that Propositional Logic is strongly complete, but Modal Logic is not]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 8. Facts / d. Negative facts
Facts can be both positive and negative [Wittgenstein, by Potter]
     Full Idea: In 1913 Wittgenstein was explicit that there are both positive and negative facts.
     From: report of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Notes on Logic [1913], B7) by Michael Potter - The Rise of Analytic Philosophy 1879-1930 47 'Mole'
     A reaction: This is a prelude to the Tractatus, in which negative facts are denied in T1.11 (and in a 1919 letter), but then affirmed in T2.06.
11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 3. Idealism / b. Transcendental idealism
Transcendental idealism aims to explain objectivity through subjectivity [Bowie]
     Full Idea: The aim of transcendental idealism is to give a basis for objectivity in terms of subjectivity.
     From: Andrew Bowie (German Philosophy: a very short introduction [2010], 1)
     A reaction: Hume used subjectivity to undermine the findings of objectivity. There was then no return to naive objectivity. Kant's aim then was to thwart global scepticism. Post-Kantians feared that he had failed.
11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 3. Idealism / d. Absolute idealism
The Idealists saw the same unexplained spontaneity in Kant's judgements and choices [Bowie]
     Full Idea: The Idealist saw in Kant that knowledge, which depends on the spontaneity of judgement, and self-determined spontaneous action, can be seen as sharing the same source, which is not accessible to scientific investigation.
     From: Andrew Bowie (German Philosophy: a very short introduction [2010])
     A reaction: This is the 'spontaneity' of judgements and choices which was seen as the main idea in Kant. It inspired romantic individualism. The judgements are the rule-based application of concepts.
German Idealism tried to stop oppositions of appearances/things and receptivity/spontaneity [Bowie]
     Full Idea: A central aim of German Idealism is to overcome Kant's oppositions between appearances and thing in themselves, and between receptivity and spontaneity.
     From: Andrew Bowie (German Philosophy: a very short introduction [2010], 2)
     A reaction: I have the impression that there were two strategies: break down the opposition within the self (Fichte), or break down the opposition in the world (Spinozism).
Crucial to Idealism is the idea of continuity between receptivity and spontaneous judgement [Bowie]
     Full Idea: A crucial idea for German Idealism (from Hamann) is that apparently passive receptivity and active spontaneity are in fact different degrees of the same 'activity, and the gap between subject and world can be closed.
     From: Andrew Bowie (German Philosophy: a very short introduction [2010], 3)
     A reaction: The 'passive' bit seems to be Hume's 'impressions', which are Kant's 'intuitions', which need 'spontaneous' interpretation to become experiences. Critics of Kant said this implied a dualism.