On Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:03:07 -0700, rusi wrote: > On Oct 2, 8:03 am, Steven D'Aprano <steve > +comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> wrote: >> By the way, who removed the OT label from the subject line? Please >> don't unless it actually comes back on topic. >> >> DevPlayer wrote: >> > I still assert that contradiction is caused by narrow perspective. >> >> There's no doubt that some *apparent* contradictions are caused by lack >> of correct information. But: >> >> N is an even number; >> N (the same N, for avoidance of doubt) is an odd number >> >> is still a contradiction, no matter how you look at it. > > DevPlayer is probably talking of 'synthetic/a posteriori' statements > You're changing it to 'analytic/a priori' (like the OT subject line > <wink>) > (see > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic%E2%80%93synthetic_distinction#Kant > )
An interesting link. I knew the Objectivists were nuts, but I really didn't appreciate quite how nuts they were until I read Leonard Peikoff's criticism of Kant. Not that I necessary agree with Kant, but the Objectivist argument basically boils down to "We would like empirical knowledge to be 100% certain, but Kant demonstrates that it isn't. Therefore he must be wrong." Or to put it another way: "I reject your reality and substitute my own." But in any case, no, I am not merely talking about analytic/a priori statements. Here's a synthetic/a priori version: (a) The sum of odd numbers between 6 and 20 equals 91. (b) The sum of odd numbers between 6 and 20 equals 93. and here's a synthetic/a posteriori version: (c) During the 1936 Olympic Games, the leader of the host nation had a full beard. (d) During the 1936 Olympic Games, the leader of the host nation did not have a full beard. Unlike Kant, I don't think that analytic/a posteriori is contradictory. Here is an example: (e) Combustion is caused by a chemical reaction between an oxidant and some other reagent. (f) Combustion is caused by the release of phlogiston from materials. In all cases, we can be sure that the contradiction between the pair of statements are genuine contradictions and not mere apparent contradictions caused by "narrow perspective" or incomplete or erroneous knowledge. -- Steven -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
