Return-Path: <@FINHUTC.HUT.FI:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET> Received: from FINHUTC.hut.fi by xiron.pc.helsinki.fi with smtp (Linux Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0queQc-00005YC; Tue, 11 Oct 94 12:27 EET Message-Id: Received: from FINHUTC.HUT.FI by FINHUTC.hut.fi (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 7751; Tue, 11 Oct 94 12:27:42 EET Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin MAILER@SEARN) by FINHUTC.HUT.FI (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 7747; Tue, 11 Oct 1994 12:27:41 +0200 Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin LISTSERV@SEARN) by SEARN.SUNET.SE (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 2690; Tue, 11 Oct 1994 11:24:41 +0100 Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 11:26:56 BST Reply-To: i.alexander.bra0125@oasis.icl.co.uk Sender: Lojban list From: i.alexander.bra0125@OASIS.ICL.CO.UK Subject: Re: lo [nonexistent] To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu Content-Length: 776 Lines: 22 I concede that {ro crida cu se kojna se kerlo} is vacuously true, and therefore uninteresting, in the _real world_. What makes it interesting and meaningful is that there may be other worlds in which elves do exist, and this therefore becomes a contingent statement. Any proposition may be evaluated in whatever world we choose, and will result in a truth value, which may or may not be interesting on subsequent analysis. Ideally, we would expect some sort of indication from the (linguistic or extra-linguistic) context as to what sort of world we were talking about. One way of directly indicating that we are discussing a world in which elves exist would be da crida .inaja tu'e li'o tu'u but we're not always going to be as formal as that. mu'o mi'e .i,n.