We argue, with special reference to various passages from Leibniz’s Generales Inquisitiones, that the simultaneous presence of two switches concerning the negation operator is the main source of the difficulties raised by many people against his logical investigations. The former switch carries negation from outside to inside of the proposition to which it is applied; the latter is the socalled obversion law (which asserts the equivalence of “non est” and “est non”). Applied in sequence, the two switches transform an outside (propositional or de dicto) negation into a conceptual (predicative or de re) negation. We also investigate the further difficulties which arise from the interplay between these switches and Leibniz’s use of indefinite letters.
Some Remarks on Negation and Quantification in Leibniz’s Logic
MARIANI, MAURO
2011-01-01
Abstract
We argue, with special reference to various passages from Leibniz’s Generales Inquisitiones, that the simultaneous presence of two switches concerning the negation operator is the main source of the difficulties raised by many people against his logical investigations. The former switch carries negation from outside to inside of the proposition to which it is applied; the latter is the socalled obversion law (which asserts the equivalence of “non est” and “est non”). Applied in sequence, the two switches transform an outside (propositional or de dicto) negation into a conceptual (predicative or de re) negation. We also investigate the further difficulties which arise from the interplay between these switches and Leibniz’s use of indefinite letters.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
