Exception paradox

Exception paradox

Exception paradox: if every rule has an exception, then there must be an exception to the rule that every rule has an exception.

From the logical point of view, this can be taken as a proof that the sentence "every rule has an exception" is false - a simple example of a proof technique known as reductio ad absurdum. However, if the rule to which there was no exception was the rule that all rules have an exception, then the sentence 'all rules have an exception' could remain true without paradox.

The Exception paradox is quite similar to the liar paradox, in which either answer creates an infinite loop of questions which again leads back to the beginning of each initial question being asked (or answered).

A similar idea is this: If everything is possible, then it is possible for anything to be impossible.Also: The only rule is that there are no rules.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • paradox — paradox, antinomy, anomaly are comparable terms that involve the idea of expressing or revealing an inner or inherent contradiction and are therefore not always clearly distinguished. A paradox is primarily a statement or proposition which… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Russell's paradox — Part of the foundations of mathematics, Russell s paradox (also known as Russell s antinomy), discovered by Bertrand Russell in 1901, showed that the naive set theory of Frege leads to a contradiction.It might be assumed that, for any formal… …   Wikipedia

  • Demographic-economic paradox — Graph of Total Fertility Rate vs. GDP per capita of the corresponding country, 2009. Only countries with over 5 Million population were plotted, to reduce outliers. Sources: CIA World Fact Book. For details, see List of countries and territories… …   Wikipedia

  • Ontological paradox — An ontological paradox is a paradox of time travel that questions the existence and creation of information and objects that travel in time. It is very closely related to the predestination paradox and usually occurs at the same time. Because of… …   Wikipedia

  • Overwhelming exception — An overwhelming exception is a logical fallacy similar to a hasty generalization. It is a generalization that is accurate, but comes with one or more qualifications which eliminate so many cases that what remains is much less impressive than the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of paradoxes — This is a list of paradoxes, grouped thematically. Note that many of the listed paradoxes have a clear resolution see Quine s Classification of Paradoxes.Logical, non mathematical* Paradox of entailment: Inconsistent premises always make an… …   Wikipedia

  • Список парадоксов — …   Википедия

  • logic, history of — Introduction       the history of the discipline from its origins among the ancient Greeks to the present time. Origins of logic in the West Precursors of ancient logic       There was a medieval tradition according to which the Greek philosopher …   Universalium

  • Augustus De Morgan — (1806 1871) Born 27 June 1806( …   Wikipedia

  • Mutant Chronicles — est un jeu de rôle dont l univers a été décliné sous de nombreux supports. Sommaire 1 L univers de Mutant Chronicles 1.1 Les Chroniques 1.1.1 L Exode et l Âge d Or …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”