In this paper, the authors attempt to prove there is a relationship between Borges’ “Argumentum ornithologicum” and Anselm’s argument “Argumentum ontologicum”. We suggest Borges, using the image of a flock of birds, with oriental reminiscences, half joking, half serious attempts to prove the existence of God. We demonstrate the fallacies incurred by Borges and why his “Argumentum” has no place within the traditional set of ontological arguments. However, it would easy to forget that Borges’ claim is not philosophical, nor theological, (...) nor apologetic, but rather ironic or paradoxical. (shrink)

Reality contains information that becomes significances in the mind of the observer. Language is the human instrument to understand reality. But is it possible to attain this reality? Is there an absolute reality, as certain philosophical schools tell us? The reality that we perceive, is it just a fragmented reality of which we are part? The work that the authors present is an attempt to address this question from an epistemological, linguistic and logical-mathematical point of view.

This long-awaited book replaces Hughes and Cresswell's two classic studies of modal logic: _An Introduction to Modal Logic_ and _A Companion to Modal Logic_. _A New Introduction to Modal Logic_ is an entirely new work, completely re-written by the authors. They have incorporated all the new developments that have taken place since 1968 in both modal propositional logic and modal predicate logic, without sacrificing tha clarity of exposition and approachability that were essential features of their earlier works. The book takes (...) readers from the most basic systems of modal propositional logic right up to systems of modal predicate with identity. It covers both technical developments such as completeness and incompleteness, and finite and infinite models, and their philosophical applications, especially in the area of modal predicate logic. (shrink)

A textbook on modal logic, intended for readers already acquainted with the elements of formal logic, containing nearly 500 exercises. Brian F. Chellas provides a systematic introduction to the principal ideas and results in contemporary treatments of modality, including theorems on completeness and decidability. Illustrative chapters focus on deontic logic and conditionality. Modality is a rapidly expanding branch of logic, and familiarity with the subject is now regarded as a necessary part of every philosopher's technical equipment. Chellas here offers an (...) up-to-date and reliable guide essential for the student. (shrink)

El presente artículo se propone esclarecer una etapa fundamental del pensamiento moderno acerca de la noción de infinito que marca el tránsito desde el pensamiento racionalista al propiamente idealista. La aportación específica del autor consta en desvelar cómo, detrás de un dialogo polémico entre Hegel y Jacobi acerca de algunas importantes y controvertidas cuestiones de la ontología spinoziana, subyazca la disputa entre la lógica de la Reflexión, censurada por Hegel, y la lógica de la infinitud, que se propone recomponer la (...) escisión moderna y su dualismo polifacético. Este significativo cruce es, pues, la palanca hacia el pensamiento idealista, cuyo fulcro es una noción distinta de infinito. The present article intends clarifying an important stage of the modern philosophical thinking about the notion of Infinite, which marks the transition from rationalistic thinking to the idealist one. The specific contribution of the author consists in revealing how, beneath the argument between Hegel and Jacobi about some relevant aspects of the Spinozean ontology, underlies a dispute between the logic of Reflexion, strongly opposed by Hegel, and the logic of Infinite, that tries to make up the modern division and its many-sided dualism. This significative cross constitutes the lever towards idealist thinking, whose fulcrum actually is a different notion of Infinite. (shrink)