Bifurcate vs. Multivariate Logic: The Long Shadow of Philosophy.

Torus34

I spend more time than I should reading the comments on political forums. Folks post their thoughts on any number of issues du jour. A number of them ascribe problems which our society faces to ‘them’, to ‘the economy’, to ‘liberals’, or to ‘conservatives’. It’s relatively rare to find a post which notes a number of factors affecting an issue.

It’s not difficult to trace either/or logic back to the philosophers of ancient Greece. Aristotle, Plato and Socrates were master of the technique at a level rare even today. Their writings formed the basis for philosophical thought and writing for many, many hundreds of years. It’s only been comparatively recently that their sway over philosophy has been challenged.

This general topic headlined above lends itself to a number of paths of inquiry.

Sociologically, we go about our business, day by day, using bifurcate logic for the vast majority of the problems we face. Do we or do we not need to go to the store for groceries? Shall we go to the ShopRite or to Walmart? Does the car need gas to get to the store? This pattern of choice has served us well for as far back as we wish to reach. Is our thinking sociologically determined? How is philosophy involved?

Neurologically, we can ask if our brains are ‘hard-wired’ for bifurcate thinking. We already know something about our perceptive abilities. We can easily recognize a group of two items. As the number of items in a group increases, we’re good up to somewhere around 6 or 7. We’re hard-pressed, given a group of 13 items, to say if there’s 12, 13, or 14 in the group. After that, it’s hopeless to even guess. Yet, we have the means to manipulate very large numbers accurately. Do our brains dictate our philosophies?

Philosophically, we can seek for philosophers who were skilled in multivariate modes of thought. They may be few on the ground.

Meanwhile, we’re faced with sociological issues which do not lend themselves to ‘magic bullet’ single action solutions. How will our philosophies, our brains, and our success-informed patterns of thinking help or interfere with the search for solutions or, to be multivariate, significant amelioration of some of the effects of the problems we face?

bongo fury

There are clear enough reasons to prefer a logic with precisely two truth-values.

But you'd be right that this oughtn't to influence our choice of scaling or classification (of things or values).

Does it though? Colours? Tones? Aren't we multivariate with those?

And your political examples are non-binary too, in a way, as either-or always exchanges for more-or-less. Any fairly entrenched contrast makes way for a spectrum. E.g. either-left-or-right acknowledges how-left-wing?

Maybe what you want is a concept of a spectrum with more than two poles?!

Torus34

@bongo fury,

Hi!

Thank you for taking time to read the OP and post a reply.

T/F decisions, truth tables and the like are certainly of value. They lead to a toolkit which includes syllogisms and other means of arriving at truth. I'm starting to look into the possibility of a comparable toolkit for multivariate evaluations. Including percent, r values and such is probably necessary.

Colors, tones and the like are physical perceptions we sense from the outside world. There's little thought attached beyond nomenclature. Even that's not something we all share. A person with perfect pitch can apply the right label to a musical note. This poor old country mouse cannot. [Sigh . . . ]

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

Gnomon

Philosophically, we can seek for philosophers who were skilled in multivariate modes of thought. They may be few on the ground. — Torus34

You are not alone, in looking for an alternative to negative-combative-simplistic-two-value-Either/Or thinking. In my personal philosophy, I call that positive multi-value worldview The BothAnd Principle. FWIW, here's a summary. :smile:

The BothAnd Philosophy :
* Philosophy is the study of ideas & beliefs. Not which are right or wrong – that is the province of Religion and Politics – but which are closer to universal Truth. That unreachable goal can only be approximated by Reason & Consensus, which is the method of Science. In adition to ivory tower theories, applied Philosophy attempts to observe the behavior of wild ideas in their natural habitat.
* The BothAnd philosophy is primarily Metaphysical, in that it is concerned with Ontology, Epistemology, & Cosmology. Those categories include abstract & general concepts, such as : G*D, existence, causation, Logic, Mathematics, & Forms. Unlike pragmatic scientific "facts" about the physical world, idealistic Metaphysics is a battle-ground of opinions & emotions.
* The BothAnd principle is one of Balance, Symmetry and Proportion. It eschews the absolutist positions of Idealism or Realism, in favor of the relative compromises of Pragmatism. It espouses the Practical Wisdom of the Greek philosophers, instead of the Divine Revelation of the Hebrew Priests. The BA principle of practical wisdom requires “skin in the game”* to provide real-world feedback, which counter-balances the extremes of Idealism & Realism. That feedback establishes limits to freedom and boundaries to risk-taking. BA is a principle of Character & Virtue, viewed as Phronesis or Pragmatism, instead of Piety or Perfectionism.
* The BA philosophy is intended to be based on empirical evidence where possible, but to incorporate reasonable speculation were necessary. As my personal philosophy, the basic principle is fleshed-out in the worldview of Enformationism, which goes out of the Real world only insofar as to establish the universal Ground of Being, and the active principle in Evolution.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page10.html

The BothAnd Principle in action :
* Individuals may have strong beliefs & principles. But interpersonal endeavors require more flexibility. So, this blog is an argument for Relativism, Negotiation, Compromise, & Cooperation.
* The usual alternative to these wavering wimpy ways is the unyielding dominant stand-point of Absolutism, Conflict, and Competition. Royal and Imperial political & religious systems tend to adopt an autocratic stance of “my way or the highway”. Whereas, In more democratic and egalitarian systems, the marketplace of ideas will determine truths and values.
* Nationalism is a modern pseudo-democratic off-shoot of Royalism, with its divine right to rule a nation of pawns. Democracy and Socialism are imperfect attempts to accommodate the needs & wishes of all citizens from top to bottom.
* The Blog assumes that we will always have people on both sides of every issue. Yet, we can still have our private beliefs, even as we make public concessions to necessity.
http://bothandblog5.enformationism.info/-BothAndPhilosophy

Torus34

@ Gnomon.

First, I like the 'handle'. As a desultory maker of sundials, I'm aware of its function and etymology.

Second, thank you for taking time to type your extensive response. I was afraid that I had gotten myself out onto an intellectual/philosophical limb which would not withstand examination. Your post gives me a nudge to move ahead.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

Gnomon

First, I like the 'handle'. As a desultory maker of sundials, I'm aware of its function and etymology. — Torus34

Why desultory? Sounds like a fun hobby. As an architect, I once designed a Sundial Tower, just for funsies. It wasn't really a sundial, but merely "inspired by". For practical purposes though (uninspired clients), I eventually did a more conventional campus landmark tower. That was long before I adopted "gnomon" as my online handle. :smile:

Sundial%20tower%202022-08-12.png

Torus34

@Gnomen:

There's a nice tie here somewhere. Gnomen -> sundials -> man's philosophy and how it has been affected by being able to tell time. Or extend one's 'day' by artificial means, etc..

As to designing sundials, if one's computer literate it's easy to write a program which will assist in laying out a dial, no matter what the position or slope of the dial plate. There's a nice literature available on the mottoes which have been scribed on sundials, too. "I mark none but sunny hours." is one I rather like.

Desultory because there are so many other interesting things to learn that spending much time on any one thing starts to create an itch in the brain.

Best wishes to you and yours.

Bifurcate vs. Multivariate Logic: The Long Shadow of Philosophy.

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