Re: A Normalization Question

From: Jan Hidders <jan.hidders_at_REMOVETHIS.pandora.be>
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:04:15 GMT
Message-ID: <zr_Gc.177798$7S2.8293437@phobos.telenet-ops.be>

Neo wrote:

>>You have to show that in the tuple ("brown", "brown", "brown") the 
>>string "brown" each time represents the same fact.

>
> The first, second and third string "brown" represent the same fact.
> Each string "brown" is composed of the symbols "b", "r", "o", "w", "n"
> in successive order.

No, those are three *different* facts:

1. The first string consists of "b", "r", "o", "w", "n" in that order.
2. The second string consists of "b", "r", "o", "w", "n" in that order.
3. The third string consists of "b", "r", "o", "w", "n" in that order.

You have failed to show that they represent the *same* fact.

Note that they do not represent the fact that the letter 'r' is the second letter in the string "brown" because if that were the case you could do an update to them that changes this fact. But since this fact holds by definition, is is an analytical fact to put it in Kantian terms, such an update is a logical impossibility.

• Jan Hidders

Received on Wed Jul 07 2004 - 17:04:15 CDT