The Logic of Discipline

Epistemic logic is the branch of philosophical thought that seeks to formalize the discourse about knowledge. Its object is to articulate and clarify the general principles of reasoning about claims to and attributions of knowledge. This comprehensive survey of the topic offers the first systematic account of the subject as it has developed in the journal literature over recent decades.

This book serves as a basis for the exploration of language in a more systematic way. The main impetus for writing this book derives from the fact that linguistics and semiotics are two fields of study that need to be brought together under one compass because language is what is known as the “passkey semiotic,” i.e. the system of signs that underlies all other sign systems owing to its foundational status. Due to the current balkanization of linguistics as an academic discipline, the academic study of language structure rarely if ever incorporates the insights of semiotics and semioticians when presenting its material.

For thousands of years, humanity has attempted to enforce ethics through supernatural and secular punishments; this rabid aggression has been both necessary and ridiculous. It has been necessary because a rational proof of secular ethics has never been achieved; it has been ridiculous because it is impossible to imagine any scientific or mathematical argument being advanced in such a hysterical and violent manner.

Statistics and hypothesis testing are routinely used in areas (such as linguistics) that are traditionally not mathematically intensive. In such fields, when faced with experimental data, many students and researchers tend to rely on commercial packages to carry out statistical data analysis, often without understanding the logic of the statistical tests they rely on.