Thoughts to you from yours truly - ( 60 ) - March, 1, 2011

Thoughts to You from Yours Truly - ( TYYT ) - ( 60 ) - Language, Truth & Logic ( 語言，真理與邏輯 ) - March, 1, 2011

The brilliant British philosopher Sir Alfred J. Ayer ( who advocates logical positivism ) once created a very simple approach to classifying the nature of all our statements into just two main categories. The first type concerns " expression of ideas " that do not relate to our real life experience. These are called " analytical statements ". They deal with logic ( including mathematical logic ) and rationale and, therefore, concern " relations of ideas " that are abstracted from the real world. The second type concerns " matters of fact " which Ayer called " empirical statements ". The latter type can be proved or disproved through our observational evidence. For example, the statement - the sun rises in the east - is an empirical statement. On the other hand, the statement - one plus one equals two - is an analytical statement that can only be proven right or wrong through logic ( in this case, mathematical logic ) but not through empirical facts. One further word of caution on " analytical statements " must be mentioned here. The basic assumptions behind " analytical statements " must be known before we can decide on their validity. In the last example, we have already implied that we are using the normal scale of 10 as our basis because if we were using the binary ( 2 ) scale one plus one will equal 10.
超卓的英國哲學家A.J. Ayer ( 埃雅 ），曾開創先河， 把我們所有言論，分為兩大類。第一類是有關主意和概念的言論，他稱之為純分析性的言論，是與現實無直接關係的， 只關乎邏輯和推理，是主意與概念之間的關係。第二類，是關乎現實的言論，他稱之為關乎事實的言論。這類言論可以用事實去證明其真偽。例如，太陽是從東方升起的。相反，一加一等於二，這是純分析性的言論，只可從邏輯 （ 數學邏輯 ）和推理證明其真偽。在這裡，我必須指出一點，有關純分析性的言論，我們要先弄清楚相關的明顯或背面的假定，才可正確判斷其真偽。以上述為例，我們已暗示使用十進制度，假若是二進制，一加一便等於十了。


Very often, we argue on crossed purposes because we fail to distinguish between the two types of statements thus applying the wrong reasoning method. Also, we may not have defined the terms we use properly or their underlying or implicit assumptions for that matter. The simple guide lines to avoid mixed up thinking or unnecessary arguments are two fold. Firstly, distinguish between the two types of statement. Secondly, apply the correct method of verifying them. That is to say applying the relevant facts to verify the truth or falsehood of " empirical statements " while applying the relevant logic to " analytical statements " after ascertaining all explicit and implicit assumptions. This will make us smart thinkers and a modern global citizen.
我們經常被捲入一些不必要的爭辯，多數是因為不能分辨二者，所以可能用了錯誤的分析方法。也許我們未清楚說明所用名詞或暗示式假設，引起無謂之爭論。其實 運用些簡單指引，便可化解問題。這些指引分為兩個層次，第一是把兩種言論分辨出來。第二是用相關的分析方法證明其真偽。前者用事實加以驗證，後者便用相關 邏輯推理，以定真假。這樣，我們便可以擁有醒目的思維，配為一個現代世界公民。

JKHC ( 鄭冠合 )