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Single Idea 1554

[filed under theme 19. Language / F. Communication / 3. Denial ]

Full Idea

Prodicus insists that contradiction is impossible, since if two people are contradicting each other, they cannot both be speaking of the same fact. Only the one who is speaking the truth is speaking of facts as they are; the other does not speak facts.

Gist of Idea

Contradiction is impossible, since only one side of the argument refers to the true facts

Source

report of Prodicus (fragments/reports [c.423 BCE]) by Didymus the Blind - Commentary on Ecclesiastes (frags)

Book Ref

'The First Philosophers', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 2000], p.246


A Reaction

cf. Kant's 100 thalers example


The 10 ideas with the same theme [stating something while rejecting its truth]:

Contradiction is impossible, since only one side of the argument refers to the true facts [Prodicus, by Didymus the Blind]
It doesn't have to be the case that in opposed views one is true and the other false [Aristotle]
Negation takes something away from something [Aristotle]
If we define 'this is not blue' as disbelief in 'this is blue', we eliminate 'not' as an ingredient of facts [Russell]
If one proposition negates the other, which is the negative one? [Harman]
We must either assert or deny any single predicate of any single subject [Badiou]
Not-A is too strong to just erase an improper assertion, because it actually reverses A [Yablo]
Negating a predicate term and denying its unnegated version are quite different [Engelbretsen]
We learn 'not' along with affirmation, by learning to either affirm or deny a sentence [Rumfitt]
The truth grounds for 'not A' are the possibilities incompatible with truth grounds for A [Rumfitt]