From cowan Sat Mar 6 22:58:10 2010 Subject: Re: logical issues (lambda,ka, man-dogs, etc.) To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu (Lojban List) From: cowan Date: Mon, 27 Nov 1995 11:23:16 -0500 (EST) In-Reply-To: <199511232038.PAA21936@locke.ccil.org> from "ucleaar" at Nov 23, 95 08:25:03 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] Content-Type: text Content-Length: 1471 Status: OR X-From-Space-Date: Mon Nov 27 11:23:16 1995 X-From-Space-Address: cowan Message-ID: mi joi la .and. cusku be di'e casnu > > Poof. In fact, "mi se cmene zo xorxes" became true only when you joined > > the Lojban community. > > No. I vociferously dispute that. "koa se cmene zo xorxes" is an eternal > truth, *every* truth being eternal. You are correct. However, it is true that there was a "co'a" point for his being called "la xorxes.", and before that he was not so called. This does not mean, of course, that statements about him before that point are false if they use the designator "la xorxes.", since that designator rigidly refers to him. > > To think otherwise is a residue of essentialism. > > What's essentialism? In brief, the view that things are characterized by certain properties which are essential -- they could not have been otherwise; they constitute the essence of the thing. Such properties are also (weirdly, IMHO) called "internal". For example, it is usually considered an essential property of a table that it is made of a particular piece of wood -- if it had not been, it would have been a different table altogether. Likewise, essential properties of a person are his/her parents -- different parent, different person. It is even an essential property of the Queen that she has not always been a swan (I have seen this example in a technical article by Saul Kripke!). Lojban is generally opposed to essences, but can resuscitate them by using "ka". -- John Cowan cowan@ccil.org e'osai ko sarji la lojban.