HANblogLAKA: Commentary in Shaman Annotation of Logical Philosophy 1/4

HANblogLAKA:  
Commentary in Shaman Annotation of Logical Philosophy 
1/4

 This work is a commentary on Bertrand Russell's three chapter  introduction to the first edition of Principia Mathematica, written as a young man, and published in 1911, co authored with mathematician Alfred North Whitehead.

Links trace to my Hanbloglaka blog posts with Russells introductory text supporting my observations and commentary here.

“With a lifetime artists grow, move on and sometimes come home.   Love your friends and remember they are always you and all things keep coming back around.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Notes on the System's Construction

   

Supplimental Post Expanding #s 1-2

 Supplimental post Expanding #2-3

“In approaching this subject I urge you to see it as a system of metaphysics rather than mathematics. Memorization is not necessary or particularly useful in understanding it.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“The following will contain thousands of words expressing very concise and useful information, but all without a single subject to serve as glue to hold it together.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“This “glue” is to be your mind and your thought process. All of the material to come must be processed into our consciousness, and the device to make this happen is the work, Principia Mathematica, itself.” -Comic Book Shaman

“The authors carefully point out that the reason for this work is to train the mind to function without rules. They describe rules for various purposes of learning the material, but are clear that these can and must be left behind as the dharma takes hold and is put to practice.” -Comic Book Shaman

“As the heading Systematic Ambiguity implies the purpose of dealing with any complex problem begins with establishing propositions of various functions and their relations." -Comic Book Shaman

“ It is the function of this work to set out a clear vocabulary and hierarchy we may use to think of and communicate our own complexity in a manageable and intelligible manner.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Systematic Ambiguity

“In dominant culture in most of the world, people follow, and prefer to be ruled by laws, statutes, guidelines, precepts, scriptures, principles, contracts, guarantees, covenants, commandments and all other such static recordings of behavioral intentions; as  requirements to govern the actions and agreements of human beings, among ourselves in all matters and for every reason.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“It may be held that all regulation that politicians and religions typically heap upon human character is necessary because persons are good or bad and must be restrained from exercising their base human instincts.”  -Comic Book Shaman

"All of this regulation has evolved from the inadequacy of language to convey abstract concepts, and the resulting misunderstandings that occur constantly and universally among all persons in dominant culture.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Both from the inadequacy of language itself and more so people’s varying capacity to use the language they have, or to transliterate between one language and another.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Above beginning concepts are baby steps towards melting away the constraints of our minds perception. The forms of functions and propositions will be repeated and expanded ahead, and the superb text will provide all the instruction a scholar requires.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Concentrate on learning the material, but do not be too concerned if you can’t seem to memorize it, or bring it clearly to mind even some long way in. This is the nature of metaphysics; page after page of information with no tangible subject or story to bring it to mind. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Eventually things should click if you study with diligence. Vocabulary is also crucial, and I urge you to turn to a good dictionary if any words used are not completely clear. Truly it can make all the difference.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Equivalence and Other Terms

“The dots system and other symbols are carefully thought out to compress the language of propositional equations to as short a form as possible. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

“In fact the entire work is a response to the basic problem of writing about or speaking about very complex subjects, that of the severe limitation of the amount of time and attention the reader or listener is willing or able to devote to taking it in.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“As the nomenclature is absorbed and practiced very complex expressions may be absorbed and evaluated instantly, or practically so, without need for time consuming demands of conventional written language or speech.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Also by this system, error manifests itself clearly, so one is not taxed by having to decide whether or not to believe the equation  presented”  -Comic Book Shaman

Use of Dots

"The handsome gent in the photo above is a Tlingit shaman circa 1900. His culture was already in flux from half a century of contact with European culture.Centuries old realities were fast changing by concepts and technologies that brought about changes that were unexpected, and affected each person in individual ways.  -Comic Book Shaman

“Cultures rarely rise nor decline by broad strokes, it is more the way that persons perceive, understand and communicate large and small changes among themselves that makes present and future dimensional realities.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“The idea of this work is not specifically to be always correct in all assertions, inferences or propositions; it is much more important to be sure that these are not in error. Perhaps these seem like the same thing, but they are heads and tails of the same coin.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“One may choose to see a coin as a prospective gumball, or take a more existential view, that there are two dimensional-aspects, whose differences are recognizable and definable as significant fine distinctions; that are useful or not as each person ultimately decides  for herself.  ”  -Comic Book Shaman

On Definitions

“Tautology is generally not welcome in language, or standard written communication; but it is a building block of thought and the determining of fine distinctions.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Tautology is the repetition of an idea, especially in other words than fit the present context without imparting more clear or forceful emphasis. This is detrimental to speech or journalism in that is wastes time and energy in communicating abstract ideas to others and most often impedes our purpose. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

“However in the field of logic and logical philosophy under present examination, tautology represents a compound propositional form in which all instances are true or all instances are false. This is useful in our thought process and in propositional notation which we can see, consider and share; without the lengthy exposition that destroys its value by inertia.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Absorption is a process that, within set guidelines allows us to  recognize and convert the nature of more speculative propositions into ones that are more provable, and acceptable.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“These propositional equations resemble mathematical equations, but do not function in the same manner. This dissonance causes mathematicians to want to change terms and structures in these introductory chapters, but this is a big mistake.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Any changes or simplifications in the metaphysical construct here affects and corrupts perception, and understanding of the actual mathematical content in the body of Principia Mathematica.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Tautology and Absorption

“Our introduction here to propositional functions is the key foundation to the author’s system of logical philosophy, and our first step in the process of understanding Indian thought as it existed before first European contact.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“One pleasant convention used by the authors is to use terms like “we” and “our” in reference to expanding and explaining parts of the text in such a way as may be taken as including the reader in an 'ownership of understanding' the system described.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“I find this very appropriate, because understanding this system is to adopt basic metaphysical changes in our own thought process. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Starting with learning the crazy fine distinctions of functions above; so much of life is filled with contradictions, as we move ahead we learn to sort random functions into appropriate groups, types and classes: that allow us to solve problems that appeared to be unsolvable contradictions.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Propositional Functions

“The ultimate purpose of this system is to attempt to eliminate the vagaries of language in thinking about, and expressing to others any complexity, abstract thought, or system of expression.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Another subject may have been chosen to more or less equal effect, but probably it was assumed that anyone interested in this system would already be familiar with some or much of Mathematics.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Already it may be seen that with familiarity of the system it is not only possible, but spotting errors of facts become obvious, and thus future arguments are not made with these as a foundation. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

A Taste of Contradiction and Negation

“The authors are careful to lay out clear and redundant examples of the use of dots in constructing propositional equations. It is a cause of my delight in this work, shifting letters denoting variables, for it proves to be the essence of this work. We learn the rules that are a ladder we must step off of: into practice. ”  -Comic Book Shaman

Apparently Variable 

Range and Scope

The difficulty of language and rhetoric in modern life is that of being sure of our truth in what we are expressing, or even in thinking, when it comes to complex thought and abstract ideas.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Even in combining a number of simple, elemental ideas you think everyone can agree are true, one soon reaches complexities of divergence, where agreement becomes problematic.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“As we wish to examine problems regarding one, or some number of complex propositions that may be general or specific, or a combination of both, this task is quite possible for an ordered mind to undertake.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“A more difficult undertaking is to express any results of our calculations to others. Perhaps even to ourselves, in a concise, meaningful and coherent fashion verbally, or even in writing.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“The use of language is always painfully inadequate to the purpose of expressing, let alone proving complex abstract propositions to another person.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Any acceptance or rejection of equations based on such propositions in the end, is partially or mostly based on emotion, intuition, affection, dislike or any number of other reasons unrelated to the data presented.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“Not that the audience is incapable of understanding the equation, or even that the author is inadequate in expressing it; the problem lies with the nexus of the meeting of expression into comprehension by means of language.”  -Comic Book Shaman

“These precepts will allow the consideration and expression of any complexity in total, or multiple wildly diverse complexities in equational form, to any purpose that clearly displays any error for all to see, the author included. By this means other authors may benefit, understanding the equations, and in turn acting as a guide to translate the complexity accurately back into language.”  -Comic Book Shaman

Ambiguous Assertion and the Real Variable

Hear Bertrand Russell speaking from middle age circa wartime [WWII].