I read once that an African tribe was asked a simple logical problem paraphrased as follows: "Berlin is a city in Germany. There are absolutely no camels in Germany. Are there camels in Berlin?" The tribe could not provide a definitive answer, instead saying things like "I have never been to Berlin, so I cannot say whether there are camels or not" or "If Berlin is a big city, there must be camels" in other words, completely missing the logical puzzle and instead providing more pragmatic answers. Now this story may be apocryphal, since I cannot find where I read it, but it raises an interesting question. To what extent is logic universal, is it culturally biased/culturally learned, and how do we explain the answers of the tribe?

What is the truth maker for logic? In other words, why should I take logical truths (e.g., material implication) as true?

what is the difference between logical necessity and metaphysical necessity?

Frequently, one finds the following statment: "You cannot prove a negative." My question is, in this context, what is meant by the word "negative?" I understand how the word is used in mathematics and I "think" I know the meaning when used in logic. I just cannot seem to get a handle on how it is used here. Moreover, does it, perhaps, refer to a total position in the debate over the existence of God? Any comments you would make would be greatly appreciate. I enjoy your application very much and, moreso, since I am so old. Thanks. JH

Is logic "universal"? For example, when we say that X is logically impossible, we mean to say that in no possible world is X actually possible. But doesn't this mean that we have to prove that in all possible worlds logic actually applies? In other words, don't we have to demonstrate that no world can exist in which the laws of logic don't apply or in which some other logic applies? If logic is not "universal" in this sense, that it applies in all possible words, and we've not shown that it absolutely does apply in all worlds, how can we justify saying that what is logically impossible means the not possible in any possible world, including our actual world?

Is it possible for there to be a world that logic does not apply? That is, can't a "married bachelor" actually exist in some world that there is no logic or that there is a different logic that applies? And if so, then isn't it the case that we merely assume the first principles of logic (noncontradiction, identity, excluded middle, etc...) because we observe them in our actual world, which is 1 of many possible worlds? And if it is mere assumption, then can't we be wrong about them when we say they can/should apply to other possible worlds?

Are first principles or the axioms of logic (such as identity, non-contradiction) provable? If not, then isn't just an intuitive assumption that they are true? Is it possible for example, to prove that a 4-sided triangle or a married bachelor cannot exist? Or must we stop at the point where we say "No, it is a contradiction" and end there with only the assumption that contradictions are the "end point" of our needing to support their non-existence or impossibility?

Is mathematics grounded in logic or is logic grounded in mathematics?

Is it possible for something that is said to be logically impossible, to be physically possible? That is, what is the "proof" that logical impossibilities cannot actually exist (if there is any such 'proof')?

Why do we attempt to avoid fallacies?