RE: [OPE] Dialectics for the New Century

gerald_a_levy@msn.com

> Trotsky noted that dialectical logic does not negate formal logic but is> a generalization of it: formal logic is, in a sense, a "special case" of> dialectical logic.   Hi Ian: I would put it somewhat differently: formal logic is a sub-set (or'special case')  of dialectical logic.  I agree that dialectical logicdoes not _negate_ formal logic. Neither, though, can dialecticallogic be _reduced_ merely to formal logic. > > Also, the very architecture of the computer is dependent> > on the binary system - by definition, an expression of> > mathematical / formal logic.> > You equate computation with "computer", and by that you probably mean> your PC. I didn't intend to equate the two: in fact, I very deliberately used theword 'computer' rather than 'computation', in the above sentence.My point was simply that the basis of computer logic is, in a very fundamental sense, an expression of mathematical/formal logic. This makes it very suitable for the analysis of many subjects, but not others.  > Computations can be realized in many kinds of systems; for example, in> our brains, in chemical soups, upon analog devices, upon collections of> people etc.> And some physicists seriously entertain the idea that the basic stuff of> the universe, the "ontology" of the "whole world", is fundamentally> on/off bits.  No doubt there are physicists that entertain that idea but it remains controversial and an unproven theorem. > In my view it's high-time to move on from an exclusive focus on *natural> language* dialectics and begin to tool-up for the modern age. I'm not much concerned about the word that is used; what concerns me moreare the ideas which the words express. If there are other words for 'dialectics' that adequately express _all_ sides of that term then ... sure ... go ahead anduse them. But,  I don't think that computation is a synonym for dialectics:rather, it can express one dimension of dialectical relations. In solidarity, Jerry


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