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Contradiction




In Logic , a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Proposition s. It occurs when the propositions, taken together, yield two Conclusion s which form the logical inversions of each other. Illustrating a general tendency in applied logic, Aristotle’s Law Of Noncontradiction states that “One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time.”

By extension, outside of formal logic, one can speak of contradictions between actions when one presumes that their motives contradict each other.


CONTRADICTION IN FORMAL LOGIC

In formal logic, particularly in Propositional and First-order Logic , a proposition arphi is a contradiction If And Only If arphi dash\bot. Since for contradictory arphi it is true that dash arphi ightarrow\psi for all \psi (because arphi ightarrow\bot ightarrow\psi), one may prove any proposition from a set of axioms which contains contradictions.


Proof by contradiction

See Also: reductio ad absurdum


For a proposition arphi it is true that dash arphi, i. e. that arphi is a Tautology , i. e. that it is always true, if and only if
eg arphi dash \bot, i. e. if the negation of arphi is a contradiction. Therefore, a Proof that
eg arphi dash \bot also proves that arphi is true. The use of this fact constitutes the technique of the proof by contradiction, which mathematicians use extensively. This applies only in a logic using the excluded middle A ee
eg A as an axiom.


Symbolic representation

In mathematics, the symbol used to represent a contradiction within a proof varies. {Link without Title} Some symbols that may be used to represent a contradiction include ↯, ⇒⇐ , ⊥, ↮, and ※. It is not uncommon to see Q.E.D. or some variant immediately after a contradiction symbol; this occurs in a proof by contradiction, to indicate that the original assumption was false and that the theorem must therefore be true.


CONTRADICTIONS AND PHILOSOPHY

Adherents of the Epistemological theory of Coherentism typically claim that as a necessary condition of the justification of a Belief , that belief must form a part of a logically non-contradictory (consistent) System of beliefs. Some Dialetheists , including Graham Priest , have argued that coherence may not require consistency.


Self-refuting statements and performative contradictions

It often occurs in philosophy that the content or presence of the argument contradicts the claims of the argument; for example: Heraclitus ’s proposition that knowledge is impossible; or, arguably, Nietzsche ’s statement that one should not obey others. These are Self-refuting Statements and Performative Contradiction s.


CONTRADICTION OUTSIDE FORMAL LOGIC


In colloquial speech


Colloquial usage can label actions or statements (or both) as contradicting each other when due (or perceived as due) to Presupposition s which are contradictory in the logical sense.


In dialectics


Marxism


In Dialectical Materialism , contradiction, as derived by Karl Marx from Hegelianism , usually refers to an opposition of social forces. Most prominently (according to Marx), Capitalism entails a Social System that has contradictions because the Social Class es have conflicting collective goals. These contradictions stem from the social structure of society and inherently lead to Class Conflict , Economic Crisis , and eventually Revolution , the existing order’s overthrow and the formerly oppressed classes’ ascension to political power.

Mao Zedong's most important philosophical essay furthered Marx and Lenin's thesis and suggested that all existence is the result of contradiction. On Contradiction (Mao Zedong)


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