RE: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Stathis Papaioannou
Brent Meeker writes (quoting SP): > >>But the fact that a theorem is true relative to some axioms doesn't make it > >>true > >>or existent. Some mathematicians I know regard it as a game. Is true that > >>a > >>bishop can only move diagonally? It is relative to chess. Does chess > >>exis

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Bruno Marchal
Le 19-août-06, à 08:48, Brent Meeker wrote quoting Stathis Papaioannou >> >> What more could we possibly ask of a theorem other than that it be >> true relative to some >> axioms? That a theorem should describe some aspect of the real world, >> or that it should >> be discovered by some mathem

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Bruno Marchal
Le 18-août-06, à 17:02, 1Z a écrit : > It is for Pythagorenas and Platonists to explain what they mean by > "exist". > > However, if you are going to claim that we are actually *in* Platonia, > (mathematical monism) there must be some equivalence between the > existence we > have and the existen

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Bruno Marchal
Le 18-août-06, à 17:38, 1Z a écrit : > That is an explanation of mind-independence, not of existence. > The anti-Platonist (e.g. the formalist) can claim that > the truth of mathematical statments is mind-independent, > but their existence isn't. "Their" existence ? Mathematical statements ne

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Bruno Marchal wrote: > Le 18-août-06, à 17:38, 1Z a écrit : > > > That is an explanation of mind-independence, not of existence. > > The anti-Platonist (e.g. the formalist) can claim that > > the truth of mathematical statments is mind-independent, > > but their existence isn't. > > > "Their" ex

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Bruno Marchal wrote: > Le 18-août-06, à 17:02, 1Z a écrit : > > > It is for Pythagorenas and Platonists to explain what they mean by > > "exist". > > > > However, if you are going to claim that we are actually *in* Platonia, > > (mathematical monism) there must be some equivalence between the > >

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > Peter Jones writes (quoting SP): > > > > I've never really understood why computationalists insist that a system > > > must be able to handle counterfactuals in order for consciousness to > > > occur, > > > > I've explained that several times: computer programmes con

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > Is it possible that we are currently actors in a single, deterministic, > non-branching > computer program, with the illusion of free will and if-then contingency in > general > being due to the fact that we don't know the details of how the program will > play >

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > Günther writes: > > > Well, let's see: in Alice in Wonderland, Humpty Dumpty fell off a > > wall. This is true, isn't it? It is certainly true independent > > of our minds. Indeed, it is true in such a way that even when > > all humans have died, this universe will ha

Re: Rép : ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Bruno Marchal
Le 18-août-06, à 19:01, 1Z a écrit : > That is quite different from conjuring up existential conclusions > from non-existential premises. I believe there exist numbers, prime numbers, even numbers, etc. and in relative universal numbers, ... (with Church Thesis "universal" need not to be acco

Re: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Bruno Marchal
Le 18-août-06, à 22:59, complexitystudies a écrit : >> > > As 1Z has so nicely put, existence implies causal interaction. > Numbers cannot causally interact, therefore they do not exist, > save as thoughts in our brains. Don(t say this to a logician. there are as many notion of "causality" tha

Re: Are First Person prime?

2006-08-19 Thread 1Z
Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > Peter Jones writes: > > > > > > But the important point is that the temporal sequence does not itself > > > > > make a difference > > > > > to subjective experience. > > > > > > > > We don't actually know that it is possible that > > > > there might be some flicker e

Re: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread jamikes
Hi, Bruno - Original Message - From: "Bruno Marchal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 11:23 AM Subject: Re: ROADMAP (well, not yet really... Bruno wrote: Hi John, Le 18-août-06, à 03:03, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> a écrit : > Why has 6 'divisors'? because my math teacher

RE: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Stathis Papaioannou
Peter Jones writes (quoting SP): > > What about an inputless computer program, running deterministically like a > > recording. > > Would that count as a program at all, > > It would be a trivial case. Trivial does not mean false. > > and could it be a conscious program, given that > > compu

RE: Platonism vs Realism WAS: ROADMAP (well, not yet really...

2006-08-19 Thread Stathis Papaioannou
Peter Jones writes: > > Is it possible that we are currently actors in a single, deterministic, > > non-branching > > computer program, with the illusion of free will and if-then contingency in > > general > > being due to the fact that we don't know the details of how the program > > will pl