[lojban] Re: A (rather long) discussion of {all}

[John E Clifford <lojban-out@lojban.org>]

-- Jorge Llamb�as <jjllambias@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 7/15/06, John E Clifford <clifford-j@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >  To a certain extent, a free variable could be identified with {zo'e} in
> >  its "it doesn't matter what" mode.  The real variables in Lojban,
> > {da} etc. are never free.
> 
> Minor tangential nitpick: I don't think {zo'e} would do as a free variable
> in any of its modes. I think the only things that can be free variables
> in Lojban are {ke'a} and {ce'u}. {ke'a broda} and {ce'u broda} are well
> formed formulas, but not sentences. They can only be interpreted when
> bound by {poi}/{noi} or {ka} respectively.


Nice point: syntactically they do function like free variables -- although {ce'u} semantically is
bound by the implicit lambda, just as {da} is by the implicit {su'o}.  Practically, {zo'e} ia used
in a wy that free variables are often used informally.
 
> > "Domain" is standard, but yes it is odd, since for most interesting
> > diecussions it is the range.
> 
> Could it be that in some models it is the domain of the function that
> interprets a predicate?
> 

It is indeed the domain of characteristic functions, but that is fairly late and the use of
"domain" for the objects in the universe of discourse is older.  I don't know where it comes from
but assume it is one of those words like "universe" and "world" and the like used to give a sense


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