From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Thu Apr 11 2002 - 20:36:17 MDT
Amara Graps wrote:
> What was the logical flaw that Gödel saw? It's not known for sure,
> but you can learn more here:
>
> A logician challenges the Constitution
> http://www.linguafranca.com/9802/hyp.html
<shrugs> Legilslative laws are not formal logical laws, no matter how
much people want them to be. President Bush could, if he wanted to,
enact martial law on the entire USA and force passage of a
constitutional amendment that declared him dictator for life - *if* the
only laws were logic, meaning one could do anything the letter of the
law permitted.
Those who wrote the Constitution and set up the USA's basic institutions
were well aware of that possibility, however, and took steps to not only
make such measures practically impossible, but also make sure such a
reign would soon be cut short in favor of a return to business as normal
- most notably, make sure the stakeholders with guns know they have a
vested interest in keeping the country free. That being the case, were
he to seriously try such a thing, Bush would likely find himself
arrested for treason within a month...
Just because something's legal doesn't mean you can get away with it in
real life. It just removes one (usually serious, granted) obstacle to
doing so.
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