Received: from uga.cc.uga.edu by nfs1.digex.net with SMTP id AA25154 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for ); Tue, 11 Oct 1994 06:27:42 -0400 Message-Id: <199410111027.AA25154@nfs1.digex.net> Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU by uga.cc.uga.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 4189; Tue, 11 Oct 94 06:28:57 EDT Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@UGA) by UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 4624; Tue, 11 Oct 1994 06:28:48 -0400 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] X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: Bob LeChevalier Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Tue Oct 11 06:27:48 1994 X-From-Space-Address: LOJBAN%CUVMB.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu 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.