Tuesday 28 July 2020

Non Sequitur

"'Really, because we of Lenidel observe certain customs of courtesy, use certain turns of speech - because our males in particular are encouraged to develop esthetic interests and compassion - does that mean we are cowardly or effeminate?' The Trillian clicked his tongue. 'If you supposed so, you committed an elementary logical fallacy which our philosophers name the does-not-follow.'"
-Poul Anderson, "A Little Knowledge" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 599-630 AT p. 628.

"'We assumed that possession of the gravity polarizer would lead the humans to neglect reaction drives, as we had done, hr'rrearow t'chssseee mearowet' aatrurrre, this-does-not-follow.'"
-"The Children's Hour," Chapter II, p. 180.

If it is true that proposition q does not follow (non sequitur) from proposition p, then this remains true at every place and time and in every possible universe. Who better to spell out such a logical truth for us than a Trillian in the Technic History and a kzin in the Known Space History?
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1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

So, even the Kzinti, as hardheaded, pragmatic, and utilitarian minded a race as you could find, were capable of having some philosophers! And I even mentioned bit from "A Little Knowledge" in combox remark a week or so ago.

And the Trillians might have given the Kzinti a surprise!

Ad astra! Sean

28 July 2020 at 07:27

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