Re: virus: Logical beliefs

David McFadzean (morpheus@lucifer.com)
Thu, 5 Jun 1997 21:54:19 -0600

> From: David McFadzean <david@lucifer.com>
> Date: Wednesday, June 04, 1997 5:20 PM
>
> At 10:14 AM 04/06/97 +0100, Robin Faichney wrote:
> >But I don't think you can define "hardwired to use logic"
> >to include instincts while excluding apple trees and solar
> >systems. Can you?
>
> Good question. Defining what uses logic may be as hard to nail
> down as who has mind, intentionality, free will. I'll have to
> think about this some more.

OK, I'm ready to take a first pass at this.

A system may be said to use logic if and only if it meets the
following two criteria:

1) It must represent somehow within the system truth values.
This entails that it has to represent propositions about the world
(internal or external) and whether the proposition is true or false
(or somewhere in between).

2) It must use the truth value(s) in some sort of logical operation
(and, or, not, if-then-else, or fuzzy counterparts), and use the
results of the operations somehow in determining its behavior.

I think an organism with instincts will meet these criteria while
something like an apple tree or solar system will not. Any objections?

--
David McFadzean                 david@lucifer.com
Memetic Engineer                http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
Church of Virus                 http://www.lucifer.com/virus/