Logic’s Rule (Staying In The Zone)

Authors

  • Charles Travis Department of Philosophy, King’s College London, London, UK / Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2023.e93655

Keywords:

logical laws, proof, truth-ground, revision of logic

Abstract

The paper explores a Fregean inspired conception on what concerns the nature of logical laws. A basic idea is that logic must ‘take care of itself’, i.e., nothing topic-specific could play the role of ground for a logical law. In this Fregean mood, we’ll see as isolating logical laws requires to separate being true from taken to be true. Such a path will lead us through a discussion on the role of representation in its relation to the true and the false. Logic’s proper justification (proof) concerns returning to more basic truths, but justifying such truths is something beyond its scope. According to Frege, logical laws are grounded solely on being true, which brings us back to the question about these laws’ relation to topic-specific matters, as well as their revision.

References

Frege, G. 2016 [1893]. Basic Laws of Arithmetic. Translated and edited by Philip A. Ebert and Marcus Rossberg with Crispin Wright. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Putnam, H. 1994. Words and Life. Edited by James Conant. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press.

Wittgenstein, L. 2009 [1953]. Philosophical Investigations. Translated by G. E. M. Anscombe, P. M. S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

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Published

2023-05-26

Issue

Section

Special Issue: The Logical Alien