Q&A: Logic and the World
Logic and the World
Question
Hello Rabbi. I have a somewhat stupid question, but I’m asking it anyway.
We (most people) believe that the world must be in a “logical state” (my term), meaning that reality cannot be in logical contradiction and must operate according to logical inference (if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true). So where do we know from that reality has to be in a “logical state,” and not simply that we cannot talk about a non-logical reality because our perception is limited?
Answer
What kind of answer are you expecting? Any answer I give you, you could wonder about as well—maybe it too is only a product of my way of thinking. There is no answer to skeptical doubts.
It’s roughly like asking how we know that the truth of a proposition means that it is true.
It might be worth reading my article about logical contradictions. There I show that a logical law is not like a physical law. But nobody legislated it either; it is true in and of itself. Therefore even the Holy One, blessed be He, is “subject” to it.