0

Let's say Adam has 10 apples. If Beth asks Adam how many apples Adam has, and Adam replies I have 7 apples, would that be a lie or a true statement?

In defense of Adam: It is true that he has 7 apples, however he also has an 8th, 9th, and 10th apple in addition to that.

In critique of Adam: It would be misleading to suggest that he has any less than the exact total of 10 apples. One could argue that Adam would be able to say he has 0 apples, which seems like it should be wrong.

So is Adam right or wrong? Does the question need to explicitly ask for the total amount of apples he has in order for his statement of 7 apples to be false?

Thomas Andrews
  • 177,126
Y Timen
  • 29
  • 1
    What Adam said is true, but it was not the answer to Beth's question. – JonathanZ Jul 29 '22 at 21:26
  • 2
    This question seems to deal more in the semantics of a phrase, and how it might be translated into a logical statement. It might be better suited for https://english.stackexchange.com/ – Angelica Jul 29 '22 at 21:30
  • 1
    I agree with Angelica, this is not a question about Logic nor Mathematics – jjagmath Jul 29 '22 at 21:32
  • 1
    This really has nothing to do with "logic" or even math, but the meaning of words. Namely, what does "I have $7$ apples" mean? In some contexts, it might mean at least seven, in others, it might mean exactly seven. Such is the vagueness of language. This is why we are careful to be precise in mathematics. – Thomas Andrews Jul 29 '22 at 21:35
  • 3
    For example, if Adam is selling apples, and someone asks "Do you have seven apples?" "I have seven apples" probably means "seven or more." But in general, if the question is "How many apples do you have?," "I have seven apples" should mean exactly seven. – Thomas Andrews Jul 29 '22 at 21:38
  • Pragmatics – ryang Jul 29 '22 at 21:46

1 Answers1

3

What Adam said is true, but it was not the answer to Beth's question.

Check out the Gricean Maxims for more insight as to how people expect other people to engage in communication with them. I would consider Adam to have violated "Make your contribution as informative as is required" and "Avoid ambiguity".

You have also noticed that "zero" doesn't work like other numbers in common language, and I have met some people (admittedly students of classical philosophy) who maintained that "zero" was not a number. Again, this is how language works, not how math works.

JonathanZ
  • 10,615
  • Whether zero is a NATURAL number is debatable, but there is no room for discussion about the fact that $0$ is an integer and therefore a number. – Peter Aug 07 '22 at 18:34
  • I told you, they were classical philosophers - practically Platonists! I'm not even sure about their attitude towards $-3$. – JonathanZ Aug 07 '22 at 19:59