anyone with knowledge in First Order Predicate Logic?

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zizou21
 
Reply Mon 23 Feb, 2009 07:11 pm
I am assigned to write the following in FOPL:

The man in the trench coat shot the burglar.

I cannot figure it out. The man in the trench coat and burglar are definite descriptions, no? what would this look like in first order logic?
 
gabalus
 
Reply Sun 19 Apr, 2009 05:27 am
@zizou21,
THE MAN IN THE TRENCH COAT and THE BURGLAR are not, I would say, definite descriptions, they are incomplete description. Some argues that every description is incomplete. If you want to analyze this description in Russell'a way [= an a existential quantifier] then you should have properly restricted domain of quatification. When you analyze this sentence you will get something like ExEy S(where E stands for existential quatifier and P for an atom sentence). Were you quantifying over full domain (whole world) then THE BURGLAR isn't satified by exactly one object, it's not what we want.
 
 

 
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