Q&A: A Practical and Nice Tautology
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A Practical and Nice Tautology
Question
Hello Rabbi,
As I understand it, a tautology is a contentless statement because it is always true. For example, the statement x = x is contentless because it is always true.
However, mathematical statements, for example, which are necessarily tautological (because they are supposed to be like x = x), can still produce new content, such as practical applications. For example: with the help of the Pythagorean theorem one can know whether the triangle before him is right-angled.
How can it be that a contentless tautological statement can create content?
Answer
Where did you get the idea that a tautology is contentless? See here on the site, in my article on begging the question.