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The numbers '4' and '8' and the words 'four' and 'eight' in your example are already abstract symbols. In fact most words in natural languages are symbols/point
by delian66 12y ago
The numbers '4' and '8' and the words 'four' and 'eight' in your example are already abstract symbols. In fact most words in natural languages are symbols/pointers to different things or processes in the human experience.
Of course you can argue that the 4 number, is more abstract than the word, and that the variable x is more abstract, than the 'concrete' number 4 ... even so, you can build arbitrary complex structures with just 1 level of abstraction/indirection.
In this sence, I agree with scoofy: '(usage of) natural language IS symbolic reasoning' indeed.
- barrkel 12y agoThe issue is in the form. It's trivial to define a mapping from the symbolic to the rhetorical. The reverse isn't trivial, but even if it were trivial, we'd still prefer the symbolic. It's easier to read.