Virtual logic
Louis Hirsch Kauffman · Systems Research · 1996
Virtual logic is not logic, nor is it the actual subject matter of the mathematics, physics or cybernetics in which it may appear to be embedded. Virtual logic lives in the boundary between syntax and semantics. It is the pivot that allows us to move from one world of ideas to another. This paper studies the virtuality of ordinary and mathematical logic. Through examples it is shown how what we call ‘ordinary reason’ is itself a paradox. Reason itself is not at all reasonable! Each new mathematical construction, each new distinction, each theorem is an act of creation. Ordinary reason itself is virtual. The credo of clarity is not ordinary. It goes beyond reason into a world of beauty, communication and possibility.