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Because How to Analyze and Evaluate Ordinary Reasoning Contradiction |
G. Randolph Mayes Department of Philosophy Sacramento State University |
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The Principle of Non-Contradiction One of the most basic principles of logic is the Principle of Non-contradiction. It is normally stated as follows:
If we were to write this principle in the conditional form we are used to, it would read something like this:
Almost everyone understands the principle of non-contradiction at an intuitive level. We simply do not go around saying things like:
Nevertheless, there are times when we do commit ourselves to contradictory claims. This occurs when we make statements that logically imply other statements that are themselves contradictory. For example:
Kate has said that she has absolutely no time to learn the new system and that it would be different if training classes were being offered. But clearly training classes could only make a difference if Kate had time to take the classes, so Kate seems to be saying that she both has and does not have time to learn the new system.
Kate seems to have violated the principle of non-contradiction. When we suspect someone has done this we may attribute to them the error of contradiction, which is defined as follows. Contradiction
We would analyze Kate's case as follows:
The main problem with accusing people of contradictions is that doing so often involves a violation of the principle of charity. Because contradiction is such a fundamental error that almost everyone understands at an intuitive level, the principle of charity requires us to do our best to provide a logically consistent interpretation of what the person has said. In the case above, for example, it might have been more charitable to interpret Kate as meaning something more like this.
Of course, this is not what Kate said, so this might be a little too charitable.
Apparent contradictions What makes things even more difficult is that people often choose to express themselves in a contradictory way. This is because apparent contradictions get people's attention. Phrases like "eight days a week" and "110% effort" are literally contradictory, but this is why people pay attention to them (for a while anyway). Advertisers exploit the appeal of contradictions as well. Someone opening a run of the mill ice cream store might try calling it "the hottest ice cream in town". Of course this is not literally contradictory. Rather it simply equivocates on two different meanings of the term "hot." Jokes like "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous" work in the same way. The same thing goes on at the level of ordinary discourse. If asked whether you want to go to a movie you might say: I do and I don't. Of course, all you mean by this is that you kind of want to go to the movie, but you kind of want to do something else, too. This is not a true contradiction, it is just an amusing (or annoying) way of talking. Hypocricy It's also important to know that the term "contradiction" is sometimes used to mean other things. For example, hypocrites are people who "say one thing but do another." They are often accused of being contradictory, but this is not a logical contradiction. For example:
Selma's statement may be both condescending and hypocritical, but it is not logically contradictory. All Selma has said is that she does not believe in God but most people are better off if they do.
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