Variously formulated, the gist of the Law of Noncontradiction is that a proposition and its denial cannot both be true at the same time and "in the same respect." If we're being careful, we won't formulate it this way, in terms of truth (it might then might be confused with ThePrincipleOfBivalence). Instead, we'll say the law is: for any proposition P, it is not both the case that P and not-P. In Aristotle's formulation: "One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time." |
Variously formulated, the gist of the Law of Noncontradiction is that a proposition and its denial cannot both be true at the same time and "in the same respect." If we're being careful, we won't formulate it this way, in terms of truth (it might then might be confused with the principle of bivalence). Instead, we'll say the law is: for any proposition P, it is not both the case that P and not-P. In Aristotle's formulation: "One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time." |
The Law of Noncontradiction is almost universally affirmed by philosophers. See also the law of excluded middle and ThePrincipleOfBivalence. |
The Law of Noncontradiction is almost universally affirmed by philosophers. See also the law of excluded middle and the principle of bivalence. |
Here's a simple example: I state this to be true: If it is raining, I am wearing blue socks. If I am wearing blue socks, you cannot conclude that it is raining because I did not state that blue socks are worn only when it is raining. |
/Talk |
The Law of Noncontradiction is almost universally affirmed by philosophers. See also the law of excluded middle and the principle of bivalence.
...and [2] for more discussion of this law.