Modern Logic and the "White Horse Dialogue"

Here are some simple, straightforward examples illustrating the operation of the Predicate Calculus, developed by Cantor and Zermelo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. They are considered the basis for much of modern mathematics and science.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory



Predicate Calculus

1. Subset, Union:

{whitecolor} union {horseshape} = {whitecolor,horsehape} not= {horseshape}

2. Cartesian Product:

{yellowcolor,blackcolor,whitecolor}

*Product*

{horseshape}

=

{(yellowcolor,horseshape),(blackcolor,horseshape), (whitecolor,horseshape)}

3. Complementation:

A = {(whitecolor,horseshape)}
U = {(yellowcolor,horseshape),(blackcolor,horseshape), (whitecolor,horseshape)}

U \ A = {(yellowcolor,horseshape),(blackcolor,horseshape)}

4. Symmetric Difference:

A = {(whitecolor,horseshape)}
U = {(yellowcolor,horseshape),(blackcolor,horseshape), (whitecolor,horseshape)}

Difference =

{(yellowcolor,horseshape),(blackcolor,horseshape)}




The Problem with them is, they are all quite explicitly stated in the Classic Chinese Dialogue, the "White Horse Dialogue", by Gongsun Longzi, circa 300 B.C. !!!

http://faculty.vassar.edu/brvannor/Reader/whitehorse.html

The Chinese Logicians, including Gongsun Longzi, were the last exponents of the Mohist School of Philosophy, the only ancient Chinese Philosophical sect to disappear completely, which I have examined in another article, below:

http://groups.google.com/group/fr.sci.philo/browse_thread/thread/84f4b3cdf33b86a2/afd7cfdf99ad48e7?#afd7cfdf99ad48e7

The question is, why did they disappear? Why was their work not pursued? What would have been the consequences if it had been pursued? Why is their work not even referenced by modern logicians? What are the relationships between technology, science and social development that lead to some ideas being recognized and developed, while others are not, at a particular time?