Reality is anything, all, totality, the sum of semiotic existence. Thus if I say Mello Rolls (something from my long ago childhood) in the yer 2099, it is real, Reality does not depend on the faculties of the body or mind. It is in all probability recorded like everything online is. Bits somewhere here or beyond.
amazon.com/author/stephenrose On Wed, Aug 22, 2018 at 10:25 AM, John F Sowa <s...@bestweb.net> wrote: > David and James, > > DP > >> What about "the first cake that I bake in 2020". Is it an actual >> entity? It is not (currently) observable. It might not even exist >> (because I might not bake a cake in 2020). I would claim that it >> is of the same type as "the first cake I baked in 2018" (which did >> exist until we ate it). >> > > JHD > >> But the truth value of "the first cake I baked in 2018 is gluten-free" >> is determinate (I happen not to know it, but you presumably do). The >> same is not true of 2020. >> > > I defined actuality as anything that ever was, is, or will be > anywhere in the universe. Most of us know more about the past > and present than we do about the future, but our knowledge is > irrelevant to its existence. > > In fact, all of us know a great deal about the near future and > most of us do a lot of planning for the longer term. For example, > every time I drive a car, I predict that no cars in the opposite > lane will serve over and collide with mine. > > So far, that prediction has been absolutely true, and I hope > that it will always be true in the future. I'm sure that > most of us have the same knowledge and hopes, and that our > hopes will be true for the overwhelming majority of us. > > DP > >> I am not sure that the possible/actual distinction makes sense >> for examples like this [baking a cake in 2020] >> > > Just note the examples by James and me. For the gluten-free cake > in 2020, the knowledge is uncertain. But most people who bake > cakes can make a very accurate prediction about the likelihood > that they will bake a gluten-free cake in 2020. > > In fact, I'll make a prediction about people I have never met: > For anyone who frequently bakes a cake and has never previously > baked a gluten-free cake, the probability that they will not > bake a gluten-free cake in 2020 is greater than 50%. > > DP > >> (and it certainly isn't the mathematics/physics distinction). >> > > The definition I stated is absolutely precise. To emphasize > the precision, I'll restate it in 4-D coordinates -- but it > remains just as precise when you translate it to 3-D plus time: > > 1. Pure mathematics is the study of possibilities. Every > possible structure or process can be described by some > theory of pure mathematics, but no structure or process > of pure mathematics exists in actuality. > > 2. Everything in the universe that is actual is either a > 4-dimensional region of space-time or it is wholly > contained within some 4-D region of space-time. > > 3. Applied mathematics is the practice of selecting structures > specified by one or more theories of pure mathematics and > using them to describe something contained within some 4-D > region of space-time. The descriptions of applied mathematics > are rarely, if ever, absolutely true. But it's often possible > to estimate the expected errors in measurement or prediction. > > The distinction between #1 and #2 is precise. All the errors > and vague intermediate cases result from difficulties in #3. > > John > > > ----------------------------- > PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON > PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to > peirce-L@list.iupui.edu . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L > but to l...@list.iupui.edu with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the > BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm > . > > > > > >
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