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Given I hand in a manuscript and the comment of the reviewer would be "You did not take in consideration to potential influence of this variable" the reviewer would be correct. However, my issue lies with the fact this is always true. Considering all possible existing variables the statement "you did not include the potential influence of this variable" is always correct. However, it is not a tautology neither is it an argument, so what is it?

Mauro ALLEGRANZA
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A4-paper
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    Maybe a trivial statement? – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Jun 06 '22 at 11:09
  • In the field of mathematics it would be deemed a tautology by definition of always being TRUE but this context is not universal outside of math. In philosophy a tautology has another context: a relationship between propositions where both hold the same truth value. That is both propositions are equivalent or both are absolutely identical. The proposition "all s are p" is identical to "no s is non p". They are not just equivalent. There is a distinction between identical & equivalent propositions. All equivalent propositions are not identical. Sentences can be different & have the same meaning. – Logikal Jun 06 '22 at 11:16
  • Sentences are not propositions. The sentence "you are fired" is completely different wording from "your employment service are no longer required any longer." Either one states you are terminated from employment there. So the sentences are not identical in words nor in the length. "All cats are cats" is identical to " all cats are cats." If one is true the other must hold the same value. This is the principle of Identity. 2+2= 4 = 8-4. The math statements are equivalent not identical as in the numerals. 2+2= 4 = 2+2 is identical. Both examples are tautological in mathematics. Hope that helps. – Logikal Jun 06 '22 at 11:23
  • If I understand correctly this only works by invoking our finitism compared to infinity. It not always true “you did not consider this variable” because you could redo your manuscript to consider it. What might be better is “you did not include some variable”. This kind of thing crops up a lot. Kolmogorov said “no step in an algorithm can take infinitely long (paraphrased)” and we’d all have no problem saying “no utterance will ever contain all the integers”. I think they are not tautologies because we could find reality has no actual infinity. Tautologies can’t be possibly wrong. – J Kusin Jun 06 '22 at 12:44
  • @MauroALLEGRANZA thank you I will have a look in to the definition and application. – A4-paper Jun 06 '22 at 18:44
  • @Logikal I think I not completely understand. You mean the reviewer asks for an rationale as to "because of what reason I did not include this variable", but the reviewer does not expect me to falsify the given statement? – A4-paper Jun 06 '22 at 18:51
  • You might confuse me with someone else who replied. I stated that according to mathematics any statement that is always true is a tautology by definition. You may be confusing different types of truth. Truth has more than one context. Because you are unaware of a statement truth value has no effect on reality. Something can still be true even if no humans are aware of it. The way you put the example math should declare that an OPEN STATEMENT because the truth may vary depending upon the variable. Do not confuse concepts with your worldview. They can be different. – Logikal Jun 06 '22 at 19:06

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This makes me think of the challenge of negative facts in how we account for truth. The list of things you have not taken account of, is basically infinite. But of course a contextual implication here that is unspoken, is that this specific variable you should have considered. So an argument is being made, and presumably by someone with a syllabus, who knows what knowledge or standards of writing get a pass.

CriglCragl
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