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Philosophy vocabulary · Core Concepts

Paradox

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

/ˈpærədɒks/nounCore term

In philosophy, paradox means: An argument that starts from apparently true premises and uses apparently valid reasoning, yet reaches a conclusion that seems false or contradictory.

In Turkish: paradoks

How it is used

Famous examples are Zeno's paradoxes of motion, the liar paradox ('This sentence is false') and the sorites paradox of the heap. Solving a paradox means showing which premise or step fails. The adjective is paradoxical.

Example sentences

  1. Zeno's paradox claims that Achilles can never overtake the tortoise.

  2. The liar paradox has puzzled logicians since ancient times.

Common collocations

  • Zeno's paradoxes
  • the liar paradox
  • the sorites paradox
  • resolve a paradox
  • contradictionA statement, or a pair of statements, that cannot possibly be true, such as claiming both that something is the case and that it is not.
  • argumentA set of statements in which some of them, the premises, are offered as reasons for accepting another one, the conclusion.
  • logicThe study of correct reasoning, especially of which conclusions follow from which premises and why.
  • premiseA statement that is given as a reason in an argument and from which the conclusion is supposed to follow.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Core Concepts

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