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Directory talk:Jon Awbrey/Papers/Differential Logic : Introduction (view source)
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Up till now we've been working to hammer out a two-edged sword of syntax, honing the syntax of ''painted and rooted cacti and expressions'' (PARCAE), and turning it to use in taming the syntax of two-level formal languages.
Up till now we've been working to hammer out a two-edged sword of syntax,
honing the syntax of "painted and rooted cacti and expressions" (PARCAE),
and turning it to use in taming the syntax of two-level formal languages.
But the purpose of a logical syntax is to support a logical semantics,
But the purpose of a logical syntax is to support a logical semantics, which means, for starters, to bear interpretation as sentential signs that can denote objective propositions about some universe of objects.
which means, for starters, to bear interpretation as sentential signs
that can denote objective propositions about some universe of objects.
One of the difficulties that we face in this discussion is that the
One of the difficulties that we face in this discussion is that the words ''interpretation'', ''meaning'', ''semantics'', and so on will have so many different meanings from one moment to the next of their use. A dedicated neologician might be able to think up distinctive names for all of the aspects of meaning and all of the approaches to them that will concern us here, but I will just have to do the best that I can with the common lot of ambiguous terms, leaving it to context and the intelligent interpreter to sort it out as much as possible.
words "interpretation", "meaning", "semantics", and so on will have
so many different meanings from one moment to the next of their use.
A dedicated neologician might be able to think up distinctive names
for all of the aspects of meaning and all of the approaches to them
that will concern us here, but I will just have to do the best that
I can with the common lot of ambiguous terms, leaving it to context
and the intelligent interpreter to sort it out as much as possible.
As it happens, the language of cacti is so abstract that it can bear
As it happens, the language of cacti is so abstract that it can bear at least two different interpretations as logical sentences denoting logical propositions. The two interpretations that I know about are descended from the ones that Charles Sanders Peirce called the ''entitative'' and the ''existential'' interpretations of his systems of graphical logics. For our present aims, I shall briefly introduce the alternatives and then quickly move to the existential interpretation of logical cacti.
at least two different interpretations as logical sentences denoting
logical propositions. The two interpretations that I know about are
descended from the ones that C.S. Peirce called the "entitative" and
the "existential" interpretations of his systems of graphical logics.
For our present aims, I shall briefly introduce the alternatives and
then quickly move to the existential interpretation of logical cacti.
Table 13 illustrates the "existential interpretation"
Table 13 illustrates the existential interpretation of cactus graphs and cactus expressions by providing English translations for a few of the most basic and commonly occurring forms.
of cactus graphs and cactus expressions by providing
English translations for a few of the most basic and
commonly occurring forms.
<pre>
Table 13. The Existential Interpretation
Table 13. The Existential Interpretation
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
| | | | |
| | | | |
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
</pre>
Table 14 illustrates the "entitative interpretation"
Table 14 illustrates the entitative interpretation of cactus graphs and cactus expressions by providing English translations for a few of the most basic and commonly occurring forms.
of cactus graphs and cactus expressions by providing
English translations for a few of the most basic and
commonly occurring forms.
<pre>
Table 14. The Entitative Interpretation
Table 14. The Entitative Interpretation
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
| | | | |
| | | | |
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
o----o-------------------o-------------------o-------------------o
</pre>
For the time being, the main things to take away from Tables 13 and 14 are
For the time being, the main things to take away from Tables 13 and 14 are the ideas that the compositional structure of cactus graphs and expressions can be articulated in terms of two different kinds of connective operations, and that there are two distinct ways of mapping this compositional structure into the compositional structure of propositional sentences, say, in English:
the ideas that the compositional structure of cactus graphs and expressions
can be articulated in terms of two different kinds of connective operations,
and that there are two distinct ways of mapping this compositional structure
into the compositional structure of propositional sentences, say, in English:
<pre>
1. The "node connective" joins a number of
1. The "node connective" joins a number of
component cacti C_1, ..., C_k at a node:
component cacti C_1, ..., C_k at a node:
\ /
\ /
@
@
</pre>
Table 15 summarizes the existential and entitative
Table 15 summarizes the existential and entitative interpretations of the primitive cactus structures, in effect, the graphical constants and connectives.
interpretations of the primitive cactus structures,
in effect, the graphical constants and connectives.
<pre>
Table 15. Existential & Entitative Interpretations of Cactus Structures
Table 15. Existential & Entitative Interpretations of Cactus Structures
o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o
o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o
| | | | |
| | | | |
o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o
o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o-----------------o
</pre>
It is possible to specify "abstract rules of equivalence" (AROE's)
It is possible to specify ''abstract rules of equivalence'' (AROEs) between cacti, rules for transforming one cactus into another that are ''formal'' in the sense of being indifferent to the above choices for logical or semantic interpretations, and that partition the set of cacti into formal equivalence classes.
between cacti, rules for transforming one cactus into another that
are "formal" in the sense of being indifferent to the above choices
for logical or semantic interpretations, and that partition the set
of cacti into formal equivalence classes.
A "reduction" is an equivalence transformation
A ''reduction'' is an equivalence transformation that is applied in the direction of decreasing graphical complexity.
that is applied in the direction of decreasing
graphical complexity.
A "basic reduction" is a reduction that applies
A ''basic reduction'' is a reduction that applies to one of the two families of basic connectives.
to one of the two families of basic connectives.
Table 16 schematizes the two types of basic reductions
Table 16 schematizes the two types of basic reductions in a purely formal, interpretation-independent fashion.
in a purely formal, interpretation-independent fashion.
<pre>
Table 16. Basic Reductions
Table 16. Basic Reductions
o---------------------------------------o
o---------------------------------------o
| |
| |
o---------------------------------------o
o---------------------------------------o
</pre>
The careful reader will have noticed that we have begun to use
The careful reader will have noticed that we have begun to use graphical paints like "a", "b", "c" and schematic proxies like "C_1", "C_j", "C_k" in a variety of novel and unjustified ways.
graphical paints like "a", "b", "c" and schematic proxies like
"C_1", "C_j", "C_k" in a variety of novel and unjustified ways.
The careful writer would have already introduced a whole bevy of
The careful writer would have already introduced a whole bevy of technical concepts and proved a whole crew of formal theorems to justify their use before contemplating this stage of development, but I have been hurrying to proceed with the informal exposition, and this expedition must leave steps to the reader's imagination.
technical concepts and proved a whole crew of formal theorems to
justify their use before contemplating this stage of development,
but I have been hurrying to proceed with the informal exposition,
and this expedition must leave steps to the reader's imagination.
Of course I mean the "active imagination".
Of course I mean the ''active imagination''. So let me assist the prospective exercise with a few hints of what it would take to guarantee that these practices make sense.
So let me assist the prospective exercise
with a few hints of what it would take to
guarantee that these practices make sense.
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