[Essay] (Problem Exercises) Proof by Contradiction and the Impossibility of Proving Love

This essay is an attempt to dissect the precise logical structure and the dynamism of passion contained within the world of tanka by contemporary poet Kalan Kurose, through the lens of an interdisciplinary field: mathematical thinking.

At first glance, poetic language and mathematical logic are often considered to be at the furthest ends of the spectrum.

However, both are fundamental human endeavors that seek to grasp a complex and chaotic world and describe its essential structure.

In this essay, I will select seven symbolic poems from Kalan Kurose's body of work,

and analyze them by employing the mathematical method of

"proof by contradiction."

Through this intersectional reading, I will reveal the logical necessity hidden within the arrangement of words, the leaps in imagery, and the undulations of emotion.

This is a journey to discover new charms in Kurose's work, as well as an intellectual exploration to investigate the possibility of poetry and mathematics intersecting on the common horizon of "describing the world."

Tanka:

“Whether it is Muslim love or not, I do not know, but the building collapses, held tight by someone.”
(Source: Poetry collection 'Soniwa')

Mathematical Thinking: Proof by Contradiction

Proof by Contradiction is a method of proof where, to prove a proposition, one first assumes that the proposition is "false," and then shows that the conclusion logically derived from that leads to a contradiction with another axiom or premise, thereby concluding that the initial assumption was wrong, meaning the original proposition is "true."

While this poem uses the historical tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as its motif, its structure is reminiscent of a certain poignant proof by contradiction.

The subject of the poem is the reality of the "collapsing building" that shook the world.

And the author leaves the motive behind this tragedy suspended in mid-air with the phrase, "Whether it is Muslim love or not, I do not know."

Here, the "assumption" that serves as the starting point for the proof by contradiction is placed.

That is, the assumption of a proposition that is, in common sense, impossible to accept: "Could that act of terrorism have been an expression of some kind of 'love'?"

What happens if we assume that that act is "love"?

The "love" referred to here could be love for God, love for one's fellow man, or love for a justice one believes in.

The result of pursuing that "love" to its extreme led to an act of indiscriminately taking the lives of others and turning massive structures into piles of rubble.

However, the "love" that we believe in as a universal axiom should be something that sustains, nurtures, and cherishes others.

Here, a contradiction arises.

Assumption:

That act is "love".

Conclusion derived:

That act is indiscriminate destruction and slaughter.

Axiom:

"Love" is essentially an affirmation of life and is incompatible with destruction or slaughter.

The conclusion derived from the assumption clashes violently with the "axiom" of social norms or human ethics.

What does this contradiction mean?

In mathematics, one would conclude that the initial assumption (that the act is love) was false, and the proof would end.

However, this is poetry.

Karan Kurose does not resolve this contradiction, but presents it to the reader as a rift.

The phrasing "I do not know if it is love," which avoids a definitive statement, makes this logical collapse itself the subject matter.

In other words, what this poem is attempting to do is not to condemn the motive of terrorism as "not love."

Rather, it is to point out the absurdity of the world and the limits of logic, where under certain circumstances, the very concept of "love" can cause a self-contradiction and even transform into a vector that is the complete opposite: destruction.

It is a document of thought that depicts how our ethics and common sense are shaken to their foundations when faced with a reality that cannot be explained by the axiom of "love" alone.

The poetic sentiment of this song rises from the point where proof by contradiction fails.