Algebraic Structure of Ancient Mesopotamian Omens

Andrew Schumann, Vladimir Sazonov, Joanna Töyräänvuori

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Sammanfattning

In this paper, it is shown that we can reconstruct an intuition of Boolean algebra in Mesopotamian divination with different omen series organized as catalogues. Each separate omen was formulated as a conditional statement “if a sign p, then an event q” so that it has only the positive truth value in the Boolean algebra. This means that omen catalogues can be considered as a dataset containing some logical axioms (only true propositions). It is the earliest form of binary thinking which was logically correct
Originalspråkengelska
TidskriftFolklore
Volym93
Sidor (från-till)63-78
Antal sidor16
ISSN1406-0957
DOI
StatusPublicerad - 27 aug. 2024
MoE-publikationstypA1 Tidskriftsartikel-refererad

Vetenskapsgrenar

  • 615 Historia och arkeologi

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