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A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. [ 1 ][ 2 ] It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion. [ 3 ][ 4 ] A paradox usually involves ...
It is a proposition that is unconditionally false (i.e., a self-contradictory proposition). [2][3]This can be generalized to a collection of propositions, which is then said to "contain" a contradiction. History. [edit] By creation of a paradox, Plato's Euthydemusdialogue demonstrates the need for the notion of contradiction.
In logic, the law of non-contradiction (LNC) (also known as the law of contradiction, principle of non-contradiction (PNC), or the principle of contradiction) states that contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time, e. g. the two propositions " p is the case " and " p is not the case " are mutually exclusive.
More broadly, proof by contradiction is any form of argument that establishes a statement by arriving at a contradiction, even when the initial assumption is not the negation of the statement to be proved. In this general sense, proof by contradiction is also known as indirect proof, proof by assuming the opposite, [2] and reductio ad impossibile.
However, some of these paradoxes qualify to fit into the mainstream viewpoint of a paradox, which is a self-contradictory result gained even while properly applying accepted ways of reasoning. These paradoxes, often called antinomy , point out genuine problems in our understanding of the ideas of truth and description .
In mathematical logic, Russell's paradox (also known as Russell's antinomy) is a set-theoretic paradox published by the British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell in 1901. [1][2] Russell's paradox shows that every set theory that contains an unrestricted comprehension principle leads to contradictions. [3]
In literature, the paradox is an anomalous juxtaposition of incongruous ideas for the sake of striking exposition or unexpected insight. It functions as a method of literary composition and analysis that involves examining apparently contradictory statements and drawing conclusions either to reconcile them or to explain their presence. [ 1 ]
'Contrary' (medieval: contrariae) statements, are such that both statements cannot be true at the same time. Examples of these are the universal affirmative 'every man is white', and the universal negative 'no man is white'. These cannot be true at the same time. However, these are not contradictories because both of them may be false.