Tom,
Marcel, your laws of logic are directly from Aristotle: Identity, Noncontradiction, Excluded Middle.
M= For that part, yes, the rule of non-contradiction was for Aristotle of the highest order.
Before science became distinct from philosophy (and especially physics, which until relatively recent times was known as "natural philosophy") we did do science according to Aristotelian logic. Why don't we still? Because we found that deep nature does not necessarily obey physical intuition. Take the one instance of Aristotelian science that Galileo overthrew. Until Galileo's experiments, one would not question that objects of different mass fall at different rates -- it's logical. The Galilean model gave Newton the basis to show that the acceleration of the moon falling around the curvature of the Earth is the same force that accounts for an apple falling toward Earth's center, which could never have been deduced by Aristotelian physics. Newton's model gave Einstein the basis to show the equivalence between gravity and acceleration, i.e., between gravitational mass and inertial mass. And as a result of this equivalence, because an observer away from the influence of a gravity field cannot distinguish between a force pushing up and a force pulling down, we find one demonstration of time reversibility (symmetry) in classical physics. This is not controversial, and not something you could deduce from your logic.
M= logical operations are not possible with physical intuition or physical reality because they appear to us as multiple natures that are not additive or operational in any way under logic. We therefore compute elements of our experience; mass, color, space etc.
That time is apparently not reversible is even deeper and even further removed from your logic, because it involves quantum physics which outright contradicts your metaphysical rules.
M= my ontology presents logical understanding for both QM and relativity behaviors, not for their measurement. The metric is for our own need to know. It is interesting to consider how in QM the probability of finding (say) a particle in one place in effect represents the relative time of residence of that particle in that place with respect to all other place it may be found in. Within the set of all places where the particle may be found, the places where time runs the slowest is where the probability of finding it is the highest; this distribution of the rate of passage of time is what the wave function describes.
Scientists in general don't deny the role of metaphysics in reaching for that which is beyond grasp. When you say, however, that understanding gets us to the point faster -- well, it didn't get you to the point of understanding time reversibility in classical physics, did it? I am reminded of von Neumann's reply to a young physicist who said he did not understand von Neumann's recommendation to use a certain mathematic method: "One does not understand (a math technique)! One gets used to it!"
M= Physics is our experience; ontology is about what's out there. Where we do not agree is in the metaphysical conclusions of physics.
Contemplating "existence" is, I agree, an important part of being human and an excellent way to condition one's imagination to break free of traditional ways of thinking. When we get to exploring how nature really behaves, though, most of what we know is counterintuitive, often to an extreme.
Tom, it is a new field and I can only use words that are already used and carry meanings that do not entirely apply. The "existence" I speak of offers no chance for contemplation. "Existence" is the logical operation of substitution where one complex (derivative) form of time replaces locally the base time because time in one place cannot be both derivative and not derivative (rule of non-contradiction).
It is entirely possible that you never get to understand this. My own inhability to find the right combination of old words and the overwhelming simplicity of this logic may conflict with some very of your very complex (and complete) philosophical and scientific baggage. Kids would understand this and it may well be part of 6th grade curriculum one day... ??
Marcel,