Q&A: Do Paradoxes Exist in Reality?
Do Paradoxes Exist in Reality?
Question
Hi,
I’ve been wrestling with this question for a long time, and I wanted to hear your opinion. On the face of it, it seems that paradoxes are only a logical “phenomenon.” If so, then it makes no sense to claim that there is a paradoxical reality outside of logic. Even so, that seems to me too strong a claim.
I’ll give an example of a paradox that perhaps does not fit with the position I described: nothingness. We believe that nothingness is something that “exists,” or at the very least that trying to deny the idea of “nothingness” leads to a logical failure.
If I’m right, then nothingness is an illustration of the idea that paradoxes can exist outside of logic.
What do you think?
Answer
“We believe that nothingness is something that exists.” Maybe you believe that; I don’t.
I didn’t understand what it means for paradoxes to exist outside of logic. A paradox is a type of argument, not a fact. Arguments belong to the logical sphere. Perhaps you mean facts that have a paradoxical description. I don’t think such facts are possible.