On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown
In his Tractatus, Wittgenstein sets out what he calls his N-operator notation which can be used to calculate whether an expression is a tautology. In his Laws of Form, George Spencer Brown offers what he calls a “primary algebra” for such calculation. Both systems are perplexing. But comparing two b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MULPress
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy |
| Online Access: | https://jhaponline.org/jhap/article/view/3400 |
| _version_ | 1818523235737665536 |
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| author | Gregory Landini |
| author_facet | Gregory Landini |
| author_sort | Gregory Landini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In his Tractatus, Wittgenstein sets out what he calls his N-operator notation which can be used to calculate whether an expression is a tautology. In his Laws of Form, George Spencer Brown offers what he calls a “primary algebra” for such calculation. Both systems are perplexing. But comparing two blurry images can reduce noise, producing a focus. This paper reveals that Spencer Brown independently rediscovered the quantifier-free part of the N-operator calculus. The comparison sheds a flood light on each and from the letters of correspondence we shall find that Russell, as one might have surmised, was a catalyst for both. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:42:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f041062787e4cf8aaab80cba803a5d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2159-0303 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:42:37Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | MULPress |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f041062787e4cf8aaab80cba803a5d22022-12-22T01:19:05ZengMULPressJournal for the History of Analytical Philosophy2159-03032018-12-0161010.15173/jhap.v6i10.3400On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer BrownGregory Landini0University of IowaIn his Tractatus, Wittgenstein sets out what he calls his N-operator notation which can be used to calculate whether an expression is a tautology. In his Laws of Form, George Spencer Brown offers what he calls a “primary algebra” for such calculation. Both systems are perplexing. But comparing two blurry images can reduce noise, producing a focus. This paper reveals that Spencer Brown independently rediscovered the quantifier-free part of the N-operator calculus. The comparison sheds a flood light on each and from the letters of correspondence we shall find that Russell, as one might have surmised, was a catalyst for both.https://jhaponline.org/jhap/article/view/3400 |
| spellingShingle | Gregory Landini On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy |
| title | On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown |
| title_full | On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown |
| title_fullStr | On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown |
| title_short | On the Curious Calculi of Wittgenstein and Spencer Brown |
| title_sort | on the curious calculi of wittgenstein and spencer brown |
| url | https://jhaponline.org/jhap/article/view/3400 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gregorylandini onthecuriouscalculiofwittgensteinandspencerbrown |