On 12-27-97 William Elliot wrote to John Boone... 
 
        Hello William, 
  
 WE>  JB> The part you are missing, given the premise either good or  
 WE>  JB> evil and not good leaves us with evil.  
 
 WE> True.  However I dispute the premise. 
 
  Ok, I agree.  
  
 WE> Black or white?  What about gray? 
 
  In the Aristolian world, there are no grays. 
A and not A.  In the example above, it would 
be black, A, of not black, not A, but notice 
please not black contains both white and gray. 
  
 WE> Positive or negative?  What about zero? 
 
  In this situation, we could say, positive (A) and 
not-positive (not A) which includes two, negative 
and zero. 
  
 WE> Good or bad?  What about ethical neutral? 
 
  In this situation, good (A) and not good (not A) 
with "not good" containing bad and ethically neutral. 
  
 WE>  JB> However, as I pointed out to you before and Clarence,  
 WE>  JB> one, can't use such arguments to distinguish -between-  
 WE>  JB> non-classes when such classes are more than one.  
 
 WE> Would you review the argument and include some details? 
   
  I did in the previous post.  Simply put as you outlined, 
when dealing with more than three classes either or 
arguments fall apart in some cases particulary 
when dealing trying to make a distinction with 
than three classes.  
  I'll use the example you did before: 
 
        you started white or not white 
        therefore someone not white is black. 
 
  This I pointed as you were trying to stress 
was making a distinction amoung non-whites and 
is not possible with the information given.  
  However, we can make the statement of: 
 
        either white or not-white 
        not white 
        therefore not white. 
 
  Notice, not white makes no statements or distinctions 
amoung the various classes of not-whites. 
  
 WE>  JB> In the example you gave, you made a statement to 
 WE>  JB> distinguish amoung non-white which as I wrote previously  
 WE>  JB> is ILLOGICAL as it contains more than one.   
 
 WE> I'm not following this for lack of salient details.  Which example? 
     
  You were trying to point to my apparent inconsisteny of 
my either or argument (good and evil) with more than -three- 
classes by using a black individual. 
 
Take care, 
Happy New Year 
John 
 
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