On Aug 8, 12:51 pm, Aatu Koskensilta <
aatu.koskensi...@uta.fi> wrote:
> Zuhair <
zaljo...@gmail.com> writes:
> > I think what was occupying their minds is that mathematics is "priori-
> > analytic", and that it can be derived from the basic three rules of
> > thought (Identity, non contradiction, excluded middle) and they tried
> > to reduce all of mathematics to those
>
> Not all of it, not Frege anyway. Frege was with Kant on geometry,
> declaring it synthetic, in no need and indeed incapable of reduction to
> logic. Unlike Kant he thought arithmetic (and analysis etc.) was
> analytic. That is, Frege believed the relevant basic notions could be
> defined in purely logical terms, and the relevant basic principles (when
> formulated using these definitions) established by purely logical proof,
> as he understood logic.
>
> > I think as far as this view "extending" logic with some of what we
> > call know as "non logical" symbols and rules that are "consistent"
> > with a logical language that is sane, and complete and what is even
> > more important "implicationally complete" this would actually render
> > those true "extensions" of logic.
>
> I'm afraid you've lost me here.
>
Take for example FOL which is sane, complete and "implicationally
complete". Now take the class L* of all systems extending FOL, those
of course would contain non logical symbols and axioms but are written
according to the rules of FOL and are consistent. Now L* reflect the
"Capacity" of FOL; now to me L* is actually logical, it is priori and
analytic, it is the class of all "stories" written in FOL, so to me I
see it as a part of logic in the "larger" sense, and since I think
that mathematics can be interpreted in some of the elements of L*,
then mathematics is nothing but an extension of logic really and is to
be regarded as part of Logic in the Larger sense. So for example if
one is trying to say interpret all mathematics in ZF and suppose that
was successful and ZF was proved consistent, then to me this suits
logicism, perhaps not in Russell/Frege sense, but it does go with the
spirit of logicism in the larger sense. But anyhow I'm myself growing
suspicious of my own definition since it might be the case that other
fields can also be interpreted faithfully in FOL for example, not only
that there seems to be some mathematics in the base logic itself, even
FOL, and propositional logic do use the natural numbers apparatus for
dealing with complex situations within them, on the other hand I think
perhaps mathematics is much smaller than what I think, possibly fairly
simple systems extending FOL are enough to interpret faithfully all of
math. but "simple" needs to be characterized. Anyhow.
Zuhair