cold logic (was "re:kennings")

[Robin Turner <robin@BILKENT.EDU.TR>]

>>"Coldly logical" - now there's an interesting metaphor in itself, and =
>one
>>we might do well to discourage!
>
>Sometimes logic is used as an excuse to be emotionally cold.  I think =
>"coldly logical" is a useful metaphor for that.  Maybe we should instead =
>encourage the parallel use of "warmly logical" for uses of logic which =
>contrast with that. =20
>
It certainly can be used for this purpose, or to score points off an
opponent, or to put someone down for being "overemotional".  I think one
problem is that we confuse "logical" with "rational". One can make a
statement which is logical - in the sense of being semantically
well-formed, consistent with its premises and so on - but this does not
guarantee that the behaviour pattern (of which this speech-act is a part)
is rational. Being "emotionally cold" (and remember that this is
metaphorical too!) is a rational response to some circumstances and an
irrational response to others.  Similarly "illogical" or "irrational" are
sometimes used to mean "emotional", whereas in fact they don't, they just
mean "stupid"!
        The temperature metaphor (or image-schema, if you prefer) is very powerful
(for example Cognitive Therapists talk about "hot" and "cool" cognitions).
On the other hand, it reinforces cultural stereotypes, including the rather
negative one that people who try to be logical (which probably includes
Lojbanists by definition) are "cold", and therefore somehow less than fully
human (maybe half-Vulcan??). "Warmly logical" may have shock value, but I'm
not sure how one might use it.  We are, of course, operating from a
basically Northern perspective here - maybe in Arabic "cold" might have
more positive connotations (Turks seem to be somewhere in the middle - they
constantly praise themselves for being Mediterranean "hot people", but
"cold-blooded" can sometimes be a compliment, similar to our "cool-headed").

>Logic relating to low temperatures?  What's the attitudinal for "Brrr!"?
>Physics does get weird at low temperature, but I don't see how logic
>would change.
>
Well, perhaps you could get the logical equivalent of a quantum
singularity.  Maybe as you appproach absolute zero propositions can be
simultaneously true and false - who knows? ;-)


Robin Turner

Bilkent Universitesi,
IDMYO,
Ankara,
Turkey.

<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/8309>