[ExI] The "Unreasonable" Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2008/9/27 Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net>:
> On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 7:40 PM, Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 2008/9/27 Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net>:
>>
>>> It seems you've failed to process my point about the systems-theoretic
>>> nature of ***meaning***.   What possible meaning is there to X if X
>>> isn't defined in terms of any observable interaction?
>>
>> Is this position equivalent to positivism?
>
> No.  Logical Positivism deals with an empirical basis for knowledge
> considered to be authentic.  My point is to the incoherence of an
> assertion intrinsically lacking any basis for its evaluation, whether
> true, false, or otherwise.

Logical positivism also allows analytic truths as valid. It dismisses
metaphysics as nonsense - "not even wrong" - and discussions about the
ontological status of mathematics fall into this category.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou