“If” is one of my favorite words. Logical thought is hinged on “if.” “If” sets the premise. “If” sets condition. “If” sets context. “If” sets the tone. “If” sets an assumption. “If” incites the imagination to picture what
could be. “If” sparks thought
experiments. From the “if”, the “therefore” – a conclusion – is made.
“If” is a beautiful word, and serves a versatile function in explicating aspects of reality and truth. But there’s one important thing that “if” can never do: invalidate an “is.”
“If” is a beautiful word, and serves a versatile function in explicating aspects of reality and truth. But there’s one important thing that “if” can never do: invalidate an “is.”
“Is” is an objective reality. “Is” is only invalid when a lie or untruth is
declared as an “is” – in which case, it’s not truly an “is” since it doesn’t
have the essence of being one. “Is”, in
essence, is synonymous to “true.”
On the other hand, “if” doesn’t always
necessarily mean to be true or something that will surely possibly happen. And even in such a case that “if” is
something true or states a real possibility, it doesn’t have the same kind of
weight of credibility than an “is” has. An
“is” can validate the truth of its assertion by the essence of itself, while
the validity that an “if” presupposes is dependent on a truth that an “is” has
offered. In turn, the validity of a
conclusion derived from an “if” is only as valid as the “if” itself.
An “if” can never ever in any
form be used to disqualify an “is” declared in absolute. In such a case, an “if” stating a possibility
that seems to be contrary to the “is” must have been serving a rhetorical
purpose. “If” could be stating something
hypothetical, not an actual possible occurrence, to enforce a point for the“is” rather
than contradict it (coz, again, the “if” can’t invalidate the “is” in the first
place).
“Jack is a man. He loves to swim
in the river. If ever he becomes a fish, he will surely swim towards the sea.” To use “if ever he becomes a fish…” as the basis to conclude
something like “Jack will always be a man unless
he becomes a fish because that’s something possible” is simply ridiculous and
stupid.
No comments:
Post a Comment