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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Anachronistically attributing logical inconsistency to early calculus conflates absence of rigor with presence of contradiction—a category error in historical assessment.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Early calculus treated infinitesimals as simultaneously zero and non-zero in arguments, which constitutes genuine logical contradiction, not mere imprecision.
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    • 2.Success of results doesn't entail absence of contradiction; pragmatic utility can coexist with logical incoherence in formal reasoning.
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    • 3.Distinguishing rigor from contradiction requires defining 'consistency'—which itself depends on formal logical standards the claim presupposes dismissing.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Newton and Leibniz used infinitesimals coherently within their own conceptual frameworks, achieving consistent results despite lacking modern formalism.
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    • 2.Rigorous formalization (epsilon-delta definitions) later vindicated early calculus results, suggesting underlying consistency rather than contradiction.
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    • 3.Conflating logical contradiction with informal exposition commits a category error: unclear definitions differ fundamentally from self-contradictory claims.
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