• coolguy8472
    62
    Hello I'm trying to figure out the probability that the law of non-contradiction is correct from an unbias point of view. I know that as a law of thought people will be compelled to say 100% but I'm talking from an unbias point of view like whether meanings exist outside of our conscious experiences and reality not needing to conform with what makes sense to us.

    So A does not equal not-A is one possibility then another is A does equal not-A as another possibility. Given 2 possibilities that would have me thinking that the probability is 1/2. But when I thought about it more, it gets tricky when you consider the consequences of if the law of non-contradiction being not true. In that scenario meaning breaks down and math becomes unreliable. So 1=2, circle-squares, 1+1=3, 1+1=2 all are equally valid with nothing in make them invalid statements in a reality where true is false and true is not false all at the same time.

    So given the possibility that math is unreliable I was trying to work that into the probability to get a more accurate probability. Kinda like if you found the probability of something but then are told that the computing device you just used has a likihood of producing errors, how do you factor in for that? So maybe it's (1/2)*(1/2) when you have to factor in for the likelihood that probability theory doesn't work. Or maybe it's still 1/2 if the "math stops working" is not independent of law of contradiction being true so you can't multiple them like that as if they're independent events. But if math doesn't work then maybe that rule doesn't apply either.

    I was thinking maybe instead of the probability being 1 / (1+1) it's more like whatever E(Xy) is as y approaches infinity of E(Xn+1) = (E(Xn)*1 ) / (E(Xn) + 1 ) where E(X0) = 1 because when you factor in for the likelihood of math not working you'd probably get some new value less than 50% to represent the likelihood of math not being reliable. But then that new value could face scrutiny since it was derived with mathematics. So I suspect that there'd be an infinite recursive calculation involved here to factor in for the likelihood of math being unreliable regardless of whatever I compute here.

    If you do that math you should see this pattern:
    E(X0) = 1
    E(X1) = 1/2
    E(X2) = 1/3
    E(X3) = 1/4
    etc...
    then I guess the likelihood of the law of non-contradiction being true is whatever this series approaches, 0% then.
  • Isaac
    10.3k


    Out of £100, you can bet any amount on either LNC being true or false, with, let's say 20:1 odds.

    I'd put £50 on it being true and £50 on it being false. 50/50.

    Whatever you'd bet, there's your probability.
  • tim wood
    8.7k
    correct from an unbiased point of view.coolguy8472
    I don't think there is any such thing. If you differ, please exhibit an "unbiased POV."

    I'm trying to figure out the probability that the law of non-contradiction is correctcoolguy8472
    It's a tool, and tools are not themselves correct or incorrect, except as they're used and their use is understood wrt need. The best and I think only defense of the LNC was given in a philosophy book: it is correct because it had better be; this the sharp point of many longer proofs. Can you adduce better?

    And maths presuppose the LNC, so you really cannot go that way.
  • coolguy8472
    62


    From a less bias point of view I should say. I'm thinking it's probably 50%. If we exist in a possible world where LNC is true then math would be valid and the calculation of the 50% would be accurate but if we already know that the LNC is true in that world then it would actually be 100%. If we exist in a possible world where LNC is not true then math would be invalid but since LNC is not true then it would be 0% probability that the LNC is true. So it would still be 50% from that perspective. I'm likely overthinking it by trying to bring in the likelihood of math being accurate into it.

    I don't have a better proof for LNC either except that it's a necessary truth to prove or disprove anything including itself.
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