A Logical Theory of Design

Abstract

The explication of a logically founded theory (defined as a system of objects expressed in an appropriate language) requires the scrutiny of two basic operations: postulation and predication. in such theory t, objects are postulated from a background system (theory) t' where they are already characterized by packages of properties and relationships. if the theory t is logically well-articulated, its predicates will reveal these 'hidden' packages, i.e., the analytic component of t (as to t'), as well as the 'new' properties and relations of the postulated objects (the so-called synthetic component with regard to t). all this is demonstrated by analyzing the contributions of pure and applied first-order logic as well as the logic of part-whole relations (mereology).