@Emil,
Emil;108513 wrote:Wiki about the exclusive "or". It is also called xor. It even has its own logical symbol. Swartz and Bradley spend some time discussing the interpretation of different uses of "or", "and", etc. in english in their 1979 book.
Yea, I was going to say that
or has meaning opposed to
and. Being versed in "logic gates" used in electronics... an
or gate lets either stimulus through. The
and gate can only open if both stimuli are true.
This may be slightly off topic, but I was pondering the meaning of "+" (plus). It seems to imply a change in perspective. On one side we see different things, and only other side, those differences disappear.
Male + Female = the whole species
The differences disappear.
The whole species = male + female
Out of wholeness, differences appear. I wonder if this is a general rule... these signs we use... signify changes in perspective.
By this rule, the word "or" is a sign that gives equal potency to the objects. "And" means the potency is dependent on both objects appearing simultaneously... like with a co-signer on an account. This is change in perspective from the object itself to the greater pattern its a part of.