Is English consequence compact?

By mimicking the standard definition for a formal language, we define what it is for a natural language to be compact. We set out a valid English argument none of whose finite subarguments is valid. We consider one by one objections to the argument's logical validity and then dismiss them. The...

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Main Authors: Paseau, A, Griffiths, O
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021
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author Paseau, A
Griffiths, O
author_facet Paseau, A
Griffiths, O
author_sort Paseau, A
collection OXFORD
description By mimicking the standard definition for a formal language, we define what it is for a natural language to be compact. We set out a valid English argument none of whose finite subarguments is valid. We consider one by one objections to the argument's logical validity and then dismiss them. The conclusion is that English—and any other language with the capacity to express the argument—is not compact. This rules out a large class of logics as the correct foundational one, for example any sound and complete logic, and in particular first-order logic. The correct foundational logic is not compact.
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spelling oxford-uuid:42e99fd6-ae9b-4220-a045-977efbd7ddf62022-03-26T14:52:13ZIs English consequence compact?Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:42e99fd6-ae9b-4220-a045-977efbd7ddf6EnglishSymplectic ElementsWiley2021Paseau, AGriffiths, OBy mimicking the standard definition for a formal language, we define what it is for a natural language to be compact. We set out a valid English argument none of whose finite subarguments is valid. We consider one by one objections to the argument's logical validity and then dismiss them. The conclusion is that English—and any other language with the capacity to express the argument—is not compact. This rules out a large class of logics as the correct foundational one, for example any sound and complete logic, and in particular first-order logic. The correct foundational logic is not compact.
spellingShingle Paseau, A
Griffiths, O
Is English consequence compact?
title Is English consequence compact?
title_full Is English consequence compact?
title_fullStr Is English consequence compact?
title_full_unstemmed Is English consequence compact?
title_short Is English consequence compact?
title_sort is english consequence compact
work_keys_str_mv AT paseaua isenglishconsequencecompact
AT griffithso isenglishconsequencecompact