[Inquiry] Re: Utter Indetermination -- Discussion

[Jon Awbrey]

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UI.  Discussion Note 11

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JA = Jon Awbrey
KM = Kirsti Määttänen

Kirsti, Peirce List,

I continue from where I left off ...

JA: and I will throw in the synonyms "doubt" and "uncertainty" for
    "indeterminacy", as I find that these words will often serve to
    jog my memory about certain indubitably significant issues. 

KM: A rather weak argument, I'd say.
    "Doubt" and "uncertainty" do not,
    to my mind, amount to synonyms for
    Peirce's "indeterminacy" (a rather
    strong claim), but only in certain
    quite marginal senses.

It wasn't an argument -- just a suggestion.
No doubt "doubt" is too strongly embedded in
the vernacular to ever be made a precise term,
when I am in doubt about something I can I am
uncertaion about it without much alteration of
sense.  Indeterminacy and uncertainty are such
near synonyms, at least, that you find either of
them used to translate Heisenberg's "Ungenauigkeit"
and "Unbestimmtheit".  So I don't see the marginality.

JA: In my own imagination, I organize these ideas about extension and intension 
    on what I have nicknamed the "light-cone picture" -- but it's really just the 
    two branches of a geometric cone, with no real connection to physics intended: 

    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` o.......o ` ` Properties` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\` ` `/` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` \ ` / ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\`/` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` O ` ` ` ` Object` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `/`\` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` / ` \ ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `/` ` `\` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` o.......o ` ` Instances ` ` ` ` ` ` 
    ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 

KM: Well, this is where our ranges of interest have (already) parted.
    I'm not interested in starting with countable instances of objects
    with properties.  My interests lie in what is presupposed in such
    views and work.

Yes, one is the loneliest number of objects, but there
is nothing that limits this picture to a single object.
It's simply a way of organizing the local relationships
among conceptual objects, extensions, and comprehensions.
It also provides an intuitive clue as to why Peirce would
define a measure of information as a measure of extension
times a measure of comprehension, as if it were an "area".

Have to break again ...

Jon Awbrey

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inquiry e-lab: http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/
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