chemise 35b ~ IT all = Syombote copies dactylograrhiées en anglais - 13 pp. 1? Hite. p. (1) 6, On the use of symboled Pe 3. 7. Names, symbols, and infinite names Pe 10 8. The Symbols of Logic and of Mathematics pe 13 9. Ciphers and variables3. - On tho ube of 1s. Tho brief romarks on class, which we found it nocossary to make in order to ippreciate the inport of some scientific inductions with regard to either predica slo or commensurate univorsality, can now x0 used to throw some light on the nature and use of synbols. This is to the point, 3ince several dopartnents of natural scien- 3¢ must havo resort to symbols as distin- yeished from nanes. Eddington, for instance, speaks of “the synbolic character of the world of physics”. ow -by synbols ho neans something quite difforont from the linguistic zigns wo uso to oxpross the objects of what ae calls tho “familiar world” ti). The origin of the word ‘symbol’ nay holp as to understand how it differs fron a name. tho Greek word ‘symbolon’ cones fron the vorb *synalloin’, noaning, litorally, ‘to throw togothor’ : syn, with, ballein, to throw. "once tha Hoaning of symbol as the rosult of throving together : a heap, or zolloction (2 ‘The word is then used to zean a sign of nonbership in a group, such as a unif or a sign of rank,such as the insignia fice. Finally we have the joneral moaning of ‘sign’, in which cense avon a word is a synbol. "Dut whon wo employ arbitrary signs as Sddington understands thon, ‘symbol’, with regard to a nore gonoral ncaning of sign, is used as a synechdocho, such ag tho word ‘animal’ when restricted to zean ‘dyratione? animal’ as distingeished fron_‘nan’, though man is not loss an aninal. In scionco, symbols as distinguished over anc against nanes, are requiréd for many pur- poses Jo first montioned the term in con- rection with “class” ad distinct from ‘un: versal’. ‘hy oust we use synbols for classes ? That is the nature of a class that the nind Ree resort to a spicial type of sign for {1) - Yo shall tole this matter up nore speci- fically in Part IT, chap. 3. (2) - 2 aning ig rotained in the tern *Sysbol of Paith’, such as ‘Tho symbol of the Apostlos’, ‘which moans a ‘collec- tion’ of propositions held by faith, as- senbied in rosponce to the particular contingont noeds of the tina, as distin- guished fron an intrinsically ordered prosontation of doctrine. CF. St. Thonas, iia Ifao, qu. 1, a. 9.Our usual communicative signs are vords rnanes. Now we should note that whonovor e can givo a name to somothing, it is becau- 9 our mind grasps the thing, or the opora- fon, a8 songthing one por g0, such as ‘man’, Jocratos’, ‘nagnitude’, ‘circle’, ‘to run’, "to add up"; ote. However, we o.not, in’fact, have a'simpie nano for ‘a ale flutist who builds a house’. ‘Oscar’ ay bo a porson who 1s all those things ng in roslity ona por go, But vhatever Oncar ay oy hig boing in reality one ror ce does ot nake his boing ‘pale’, ‘flutist’, Bitider’, ono, tn notion; for there te no por 2 connection between any of these things + ne ean bo a nan without any or all of such otes, or be cubjoct of one of thea without ho othor - thouth thore nay be good enough gasono why this nan is a flutist, (o.g. in- lination, ability, choice, and practice), hy he ie’pale (always indoors) and why he m build a house (sufficiont incone, ote.) at, all that cannot bo nanod as one quali i1've could say is “This sane follow io al hose things together", or, he bolongs to the lass of peoplo vho ara ali those things to- athor (2). Although ve can coviso no single ane to signify tho charactoristic of such a laca, can wo accign to it a symbol, such as y. fow tho dnportant thing to not ie that 1e symbol y. in the above-nontioned context, tands for *tho proporty of a class’ whoco x is both ‘palo’, ‘a flutist’, and "houseluilcor’. A v., ’otonds for a’ con- ination of notions. Mow the nane ‘triangle’ Iso stands for gonathing that inplios many tions, vis. ‘figure’, ‘plano’, "bounded, iro’ ‘1inos’ "gtraight’. ‘the words figure’, * , otc., Like tho words ‘palo’, Hoeloe!, Bnd Thgusebalidas’, ‘hove noaninga ndopondent ono of the other ! a ‘figure’. may >not plano, fut solid, bounded by a surface: Mnga nay bo ‘threo’ vithout boing ’Linos’, ad ‘lines’ without boing ‘straight’. Mover- 1) - In terms of the ‘caloulus of classes’, Oscar belongs to the class which is tho ie sand oduct of the three classes : Rings that are pale’ [a], ‘flutists’ ‘By ol Cel, viz. (a x bia, or (ab)c, whose product nay bo represen- od any, single, arbitrary sign such