Thomas Manning

What kind of logic could beings totally alien to us possess? Could it be an unexpected variation on our logic, e.g. with modus ponens replaced by affirming the consequent? In this paper, I argue that as no logic which has affirming the consequent in place of modus ponens can exist, the aliens’ logic cannot be exotic in this way. (Sure, the aliens could lack anything that we would call logic, but assuming they had a logic, it could not be too far-fetched vis-à-vis ours.) Moreover, I argue that our logical vocabulary has its function, and it must be such as to fulfill this function. This conclusion does not, I believe, tell us anything that is very profound about the (possible) aliens, but it does tell us something profound about logic itself.

At the intersection of category theory, cybernetics, and dialectical reasoning lies a profound framework for understanding computation and control. This paper examines how categorical structures—particularly adjoint functors and fixed points—illuminate the nature of feedback and control in both mathematical and philosophical contexts. Through an analysis of Lawvere’s fixed point theorem, Bayesian Open Games, and modern approaches to categorical cybernetics, we develop a unified perspective that bridges computation, control, and dialectical reasoning. We demonstrate the practical implications of this theoretical framework through a compiler pipeline that targets modern GPU architectures.