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Logic

What does the term primitive mean in logic? Is it something predicated to an item or concept to denote that this item cannot be any further explained or reduced to still more concepts?
Accepted:
July 29, 2010

Comments

Sean Greenberg
August 13, 2010 (changed August 13, 2010) Permalink

Primitive terms in logic are, indeed, those that cannot be defined further, they are basic starting points--like axioms in Euclid's geometry. It seems to me, however, that questions can and indeed are raised about the nature of these primitives. Are they necessary truths? Are they simply necessary relative to some system? Such questions continue to be investigated by logicians and philosophers of logic.

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