There is nothing

[vectorcube]

Take the following propositions:

1. John is not in room A.

2. This table is not black.

Definition of nagative facts:

negative facts : The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy : Blackwell Reference Online


Accordingly, " Not in room A" and "Not black" are negative facts for proposition 1, and 2, respectively. According to one view, the reason why 1, and 2 is true is due to the existence of a complementary positive fact. For example, the reason why 1 is true is due to the fact that john is in room C, and the reason 2 is true is due to the fact that the table is red.

Take the proposition:

3. There is nothing.


Obviously, 3 is asserting the existence of a negative fact. We can use the same trick we did for 1, and 2. Suppose 3 is true, then there exist a positive fact that makes 3 true. Here is the problem, the exist of any positive fact would make 3 false. We have a contradiction. Either we reject 3, or we reject the problem of using a positive fact to make a negative fact true.

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by vectorcube

Take the following propositions:

1. John is not in room A.

2. This table is not black.

Definition of nagative facts:

negative facts : The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy : Blackwell Reference Online


Accordingly, " Not in room A" and "Not black" are negative facts for proposition 1, and 2, respectively. According to one view, the reason why 1, and 2 is true is due to the existence of a complementary positive fact. For example, the reason why 1 is true is due to the fact that john is in room C, and the reason 2 is true is due to the fact that the table is red.

Take the proposition:

3. There is nothing.


Obviously, 3 is asserting the existence of a negative fact. We can use the same trick we did for 1, and 2. Suppose 3 is true, then there exist a positive fact that makes 3 true. Here is the problem, the exist of any positive fact would make 3 false. We have a contradiction. Either we reject 3, or we reject the problem of using a positive fact to make a negative fact true.

The answer is that there are no negative facts. The table is not black simply because there is no such fact as that the table is black. Not because there is the negative fact that the table is black. Your problem is the assumption that there are negative facts.

[vectorcube]

Originally Posted by kennethamy

The answer is that there are no negative facts. The table is not black simply because there is no such fact as that the table is black. Not because there is the negative fact that the table is black. Your problem is the assumption that there are negative facts.

What you say here has nothing to do with my thread. I said the usual responds to why 1, and 2 were true is a principle of trying to find a positive fact that makes 1, and 2 true. That is, the table is not black is due to the fact that the table is blue. That is what is given to illustrate the principle. This principle runs into a problem when 3 is true, since any possible positive fact makes 3 false. So, 3 is both true and false. A contradiction occur. This means one of the assumptions is false.