Tuesday, November 8, 2011

All Statements are False!

If the title of this post is true, it must also be false since it too is a statement. It is a self-contained contradiction. It fails a basic rule of logic called the principle of non-contradiction. The only way to reconcile it logically would be to say, “All statements are false except this one.” From here we would need to explore and question the premises and sources for the exception. The point of this post is not to play word games, but to help us think through the things we believe in.
Let’s look at some more…..
Ø  A Square Circle: This is fairly simple to understand.  It is not possible to have a geometric shape that fits the definition of both a square and a circle at the same time.
Ø  An Achieved Unachievable:  Also simple. If you achieved it, it cannot be unachievable.
Ø  All Truth is Relative:  We’ll need to think harder now. For this statement to be true it must also be something relative, which by definition cannot be universally true.
Ø  Truth is Unknowable: Is this statement true? How can we know for sure if truth is unknowable?
Ø  Nothing is True:  Very similar to the title of this post; if true, it must also be false.
Ø  The Bible Alone is True (Sola Scriptura): A contraction arises because “Bible Alone” is not found in the Bible. We need to go to some source outside the Bible to get it. It is unbiblical as well as illogical. Additionally, we find scripture like 1Timothy 3:15, where the pillar & foundation of truth is said to be The Church, not scripture itself.
Here’s one on Papal Infallibility just for fun…..
Ø  No person can be “infallible”: If true, no person could declare this “infallibly”.

Self-contained contractions are also used as amateur attempts to mock the existence of God. For example, “Can God make a four sided triangle?” or “Can God make a weight so heavy that He cannot lift it?” These kinds of things are meaningless. In a certain sense they are nothing…………. and nothing is impossible with God!!
WARNING: Contemplating the photo below can lead to insanity. It’s really nothing. Just let it go.

5 comments:

  1. Love the button picture! I really did almost go insane for a moment trying to contemplate it.

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  2. I did the same thing. That's why I posted a warning. Thank you for your comment.
    Ben

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  3. A Square Circle - not to be confused with squaring the circle. One is purely definitional, the other is fascinating.

    But if designed axiomatic mathematical systems have been shown to be incomplete ever since Godel (1931), why should we not expect that language, formed without oversight or design would not suffer a worse fate.

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  4. Note that if the statement, "All statements are false except this one" (call it Statement One) is true, then the statement, "Statement One is not false" must be false, since that is another statement, and so the statement, "Statement One is not not false" will be true (by logic), in which case "Statement One is false" will also be true, and so we have another contradiction. (This is Aristotle's reply to that maneuver.)

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    1. OK...I'll need to think about that for a while. Thanks for the input!

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