How our brains reason logically

The aim of this article is to strengthen links between cognitive brain research and formal logic. The work covers three fundamental sorts of logical inferences: reasoning in the propositional calculus, i.e. inferences with the conditional “if...then”, reasoning in the predicate calculus, i.e. inferences based on quantifiers such as “all”, “some”, “none”, and reasoning with n-place relations. Studies with brain-damaged patients and neuroimaging experiments indicate that such logical inferences are implemented in overlapping but different bilateral cortical networks, including parts of the fronto-temporal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, and the visual cortices. I argue that these findings show that we do not use a single deterministic strategy for solving logical reasoning problems. This account resolves many disputes about how humans reason logically and why we sometimes deviate from the norms of formal logic.

Typicality, graded membership, and vagueness

This paper addresses theoretical problems arising from the vagueness of language terms, and intuitions of the vagueness of the concepts to which they refer. It is argued that the central intuitions of prototype theory are sufficient to account for both typicality phenomena and psychological intuitions about degrees of membership in vaguely defined classes. The first section explains the importance of the relation between degrees of membership and typicality (or goodness of example) in conceptual categorization. The second and third section address arguments advanced by Osherson and Smith (1997), and Kamp and Partee (1995), that the two notions of degree of membership and typicality must relate to fundamentally different aspects of conceptual representations. A version of prototype theory-the Threshold Model-is proposed to counter these arguments and three possible solutions to the problems of logical selfcontradiction and tautology for vague categorizations are outlined. In the final section graded membership is related to the social construction of conceptual boundaries maintained through language use.     

组织信任对员工态度和离职意向、组织财务绩效的影响

为了探讨组织信任对个体和组织的作用,在全国不同地区43家企业进行了问卷调查,得到801份有效问卷。结果表明,在个体方面,多层线性模型（HLM：hierarchical linear modeling）分析的结果显示：组织信任对个体的工作满意度、情感承诺有显著的正向预测效果,对离职意向具有显著的负向预测效果;组织信任对工作满意度、情感承诺与离职意向之间的关系都具有显著的调节（加强）作用。在组织方面,结构方程模型的分析结果显示：组织信任通过组织学习和组织创新的完全中介作用于组织的主观财务绩效,即一方面分别通过组织学习和组织创新的完全中介作用于财务绩效,另一方面直接通过组织创新的完全中介作用于组织的财务绩效     

The Elimination of Self-Reference: Generalized Yablo-Series and the Theory of Truth

Although it was traditionally thought that self-reference is a crucial ingredient of semantic paradoxes, Yablo (1993, 2004) showed that this was not so by displaying an infinite series of sentences none of which is self-referential but which, taken together, are paradoxical. Yablo’s paradox consists of a countable series of linearly ordered sentences s(0), s(1), s(2),... , where each s(i) says: For each k > i, s(k) is false (or equivalently: For no k > i is s(k) true). We generalize Yablo’s results along two dimensions. First, we study the behavior of generalized Yablo-series in which each sentence s(i) has the form: For Q k > i, s(k) is true, where Q is a generalized quantifier (e.g., no, every, infinitely many, etc). We show that under broad conditions all the sentences in the series must have the same truth value, and we derive a characterization of those values of Q for which the series is paradoxical. Second, we show that in the Strong Kleene trivalent logic Yablo’s results are a special case of a more general fact: under certain conditions, any semantic phenomenon that involves self-reference can be emulated without self-reference. Various translation procedures that eliminate self-reference from a non-quantificational language are defined and characterized. An Appendix sketches an extension to quantificational languages, as well as a new argument that Yablo’s paradox and the translations we offer do not involve self-reference.     

Modal Logic for Other-World Agnostics: Neutrality and Halldén Incompleteness

The logic of ‘elsewhere,’ i.e., of a sentence operator interpretable as attaching to a formula to yield a formula true at a point in a Kripke model just in case the first formula is true at all other points in the model, has been applied in settings in which the points in question represent spatial positions (explaining the use of the word ‘elsewhere’), as well as in the case in which they represent moments of time. This logic is applied here to the alethic modal case, in which the points are thought of as possible worlds, with the suggestion that its deployment clarifies aspects of a position explored by John Divers un-der the name ‘modal agnosticism.’ In particular, it makes available a logic whose Halldén incompleteness explicitly registers the agnostic element of the position – its neutrality as between modal realism and modal anti-realism.     

Stability and Paradox in Algorithmic Logic

There is significant interest in type-free systems that allow flexible self-application. Such systems are of interest in property theory, natural language semantics, the theory of truth, theoretical computer science, the theory of classes, and category theory. While there are a variety of proposed type-free systems, there is a particularly natural type-free system that we believe is prototypical: the logic of recursive algorithms. Algorithmic logic is the study of basic statements concerning algorithms and the algorithmic rules of inference between such statements. As shown in [1], the threat of paradoxes, such as the Curry paradox, requires care in implementing rules of inference in this context. As in any type-free logic, some traditional rules will fail. The first part of the paper develops a rich collection of inference rules that do not lead to paradox. The second part identifies traditional rules of logic that are paradoxical in algorithmic logic, and so should be viewed with suspicion in type-free logic generally.     

Categorical Ontology of Levels and Emergent Complexity: An Introduction

An overview of the following three related papers in this issue presents the Emergence of Highly Complex Systems such as living organisms, man, society and the human mind from the viewpoint of the current Ontological Theory of Levels. The ontology of spacetime structures in the Universe is discussed beginning with the quantum level; then, the striking emergence of the higher levels of reality is examined from a categorical—relational and logical viewpoint. The ontological problems and methodology aspects discussed in the first two papers are followed by a rigorous paper based on Category Theory, Algebraic Topology and Logic that provides a conceptual and mathematical basis for a Categorical Ontology Theory of Levels. The essential links and relationships between the following three papers of this issue are pointed out, and further possible developments are being considered.     

An Interpolation Theorem for First Order Logic with Infinitary Predicates

An interpolation Theorem is proved for first order logic withinfinitary predicates. Our proof is algebraic via cylindricalgebras.¹     

Dynamic Topological Completeness for

Dynamic topological logic (DTL) combines topological and temporalmodalities to express asymptotic properties of dynamic systemson topological spaces. A dynamic topological model is a tripleX ,f , V , where X is a topological space, f : X X a continuousfunction and V a truth valuation assigning subsets of X to propositionalvariables. Valid formulas are those that are true in every model,independently of X or f. A natural problem that arises is toidentify the logics obtained on familiar spaces, such as . It [9] it was shown that any satisfiable formulacould be satisfied in some for n large enough, but the question of how the logic varieswith n remained open. In this paper we prove that any fragment of DTL that is completefor locally finite Kripke frames is complete for . This includes DTL; it also includes some largerfragments, such as DTL₁, where "henceforth" may not appear inthe scope of a topological operator. We show that satisfiabilityof any formula of our language in a locally finite Kripke frameimplies satisfiability in by constructing continuous, open maps from the plane intoarbitrary locally finite Kripke frames, which give us a typeof bisimulation. We also show that the results cannot be extendedto arbitrary formulas of DTL by exhibiting a formula which isvalid in but not in arbitrarytopological spaces.     

A Note on Negation in Categorial Grammar

A version of strong negation is introduced into Categorial Grammar.The resulting syntactic calculi turn out to be systems of connexivelogic.