LogFAQs > #880184776

Garioshi posted...

Sinroth posted...

Is 1+1 the same as 2? In one sense yes, but in another sense no; they are syntactically different. I hope this illustrates the philosophical danger in treating natural language "is" as corresponding to a single logical operator.

Garioshi posted...

logic itself is false.

Which one? :^)

1+1 = 2
2*1 = 2
1+1 =/= 2*1
2 =/= 2

Don't understand what's so hard to comprehend here, this logic is still faulty.

Come again? Sorry, I don't really understand what you've written, or what it's supposed to mean. But anyways, consider this statement:

"The triangle is green."

This is a valid use of "is", but it corresponds to a different logical operator than the one seen in "2 is 1+1". The "is" in "2 is 1+1" is a statement of identity: "2" and "1+1" are the same thing. But the "is" in "The triangle is green" is not identifying "the triangle" with the concept of green-ness; rather, it is ascribing the concept of green-ness to a particular triangle.

These are two different, valid uses of the word "is", but understanding them requires you to parse them into two different logical operators. The argument in your OP seems to be parsing the statement of the trinity as an identity statement, whereas a theologian would probably say it's better parsed as a predicate ascribing properties to God*.

* I assume; I'm neither Christian, nor a theologian.
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