RE: [lojban] Re: The Any thread

["Craig" <ragnarok@pobox.com>]

>> Umm... no. "I need a doctor." I have a need which will be filled if I am
>> attended to by Dr. Foo. However, I could equally well accept the services
of
>> Dr. Bar, so I don't actually need Dr. Foo. I need a doctor, according to
my
>> view of lo, is "mi nitcu lo mikce". However, "zasti falo mikce poi mi
ke'a
>> na nitcu" is still true - I don't actually need Dr. Foo since Dr. Bar can
>> treat me.

>Thinking about doctors, IMHO, just confuses the issue.  Take "I need a box
>with dimensions 2m by 2m by 2cm."  You can need such a thing perfectly well
>even if there is no such box anywhere.  This is why needing involves an
>implied proposition: you cannot, e.g. see such a box unless there is such a
>box (neglecting visual illusions, where you see the *appearance* of a box
>but not the box itself).

But, doctors do exist, and if they didn't there wouldn't be one I don't
need. And claims that the existence of a specific doctor that I don't need
falsifies my reading of "mi nitcu lo mikce", but I claim the existence of a
specific doctor that I do need would falsify it, and e is just
misinterpreting.


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