Logic in Reality

This book argues that the fundamental physical structure of the world is logical as well as mathematical. The work is the presentation of a logical theory - Logic in Reality (LIR) - and of applications of that theory in natural science and philosophy.

This book is both dif?cult and rewarding, affording a new perspective on logic and reality, basically seen in terms of change and stability, being and becoming. Most importantly it exemplifies a mode of doing philosophy of science that seems a welcome departure from the traditional focus on purely analytic arguments. The author approaches ontology, metaphysics, and logic as having offered a number of ways of constructing the description of reality, and aims at deepening their relationships in a new way. Going beyond the mere abstract and formal aspects of logical analysis, he offers a new architecture of logic that sees it as applied not only to the reasoning processes belonging to the first disciplinary group ontology but also directly concerned with en- ties, events, and phenomena studied by the second one metaphysics. It is the task of the book to elaborate such a constructive logic, both by offering a lo- cal view of the structure of the reality in general and by proffering a wealth of models able to encompass its implications for science. In turning from the merely formal to the constructive account of logic Brenner overcomes the limitation of logic to linguistic concepts so that it can be not only a logic of reality but also in that reality which is constitutively characterized by a number of fundamental dualities (observer and observed, self and not-self, internal and external, etc.

A new kind of logical system with a novel synthetic approach to philosophy, metaphysics and science, understandable by specialists and non-specialists The first extension of logic to the description and explanation of real physical processes and events, providing alternative models for theories to those based on standard logics Includes a new categorial ontology of real systems in interaction, based on a new concept of the dynamic structure of reality at quantum, macroscopic and cosmological levels Provides a new way to interpret and accept dichotomies and contradictory explanations and to manage inconsistency in both philosophy and science The first rigorous treatment of the logical system of Stéphane Lupasco (Bucharest, 1900Paris, 1988), and the first to provide access in English to many of his 15 books published in French in the period 19351980

Auteur

Joseph E. Brenner was born in Paris in 1934, the son of the American sculptor Michael Brenner (Lithuania, 1885 New York, 1969). After primary and secondary education in New York, he received B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Chicago. In 1958, he earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, which was followed by post-doctoral studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1960, he joined the E. I. Du Pont de Nemours Company at its Wilmington, Delaware laboratory as a polymer chemist. From 1965 to his retirement in 1994, he was involved in corporate development and technology transfer with Du Pont de Nemours International in Geneva, Switzerland, working primarily in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. In 1998, he began collaboration with Basarab Nicolescu, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Paris VI and President of the International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET) in Paris. The focus of this on-going collaboration has been to make the logical system of the Franco-Romanian thinker Stéphane Lupasco (Bucharest, 1900 Paris, 1988) accessible to English-language readers. Brenner's extension and up-dating of this work has been the subject of publications and presentations at conferences and seminars in Europe, Brazil and the U.S.A. Dr. Brenner is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the New York Academy of Sciences; and the Swiss Society for Logic and the Philosophy of Science.

Texte du rabat

Logic in Reality argues that the fundamental physical structure of the world is logical as well as mathematical. The applicable formal logic of and in reality proposed (LIR) represents a radical departure from the standard notion of logic and its function. The book establishes LIR as a non-propositional logic with a unique calculus, one however that can be used intuitively with minimum symbolism. A new relational ontology is developed that demonstrates the fit of the LIR axioms with modern physics. The axioms and ontology of LIR together constitute a framework for describing and explaining complex real world processes, entities and events. Examples from the literature of on-going issues in philosophy, metaphysics and ontology are analyzed accordingly, including problems of causality, time and space, emergence and evolution.

This book is at the interface of logic, philosophy and science. It is intended for readers with interest and/or current involvement in process philosophy, ontology and in the philosophy or metaphysical aspects of science, especially, quantum physics, biology and cosmology. The content requires competence in reasoning, but not detailed knowledge of the fields discussed.

The critical extension in LIR of categorial non-separability to macroscopic interactive processes defines dynamic structural principles that underlie both scientific theories and their domains. LIR thus provides logical support for current metaphysical versions of structural realism. The author encourages readers to exercise a "new skepticism", since LIR is a way to interpret and accept dichotomies and contradictory explanations and to manage inconsistency in both philosophy and science.

Contenu
Logic in Reality (LIR) as a Formal Logic.- LIR as a Formal System.- LIR as a Formal Ontology.- The Categories of LIR.- The Core Thesis of LIR: Structure and Explanation.- LIR, Metaphysics and Philosophy.- LIR and Physical Science: Time, Space and Cosmology.- Emergence, Living Systems and Closure.