Single Idea 24233

[catalogued under 3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 7. Falsehood]

Full Idea

If speaking is doing and making then nobody speaks things that are not, since he would then be making something, and no one is capable of making something that is not. So according to your own statement, nobody tells lies.

Gist of Idea

If speech is making something, then lies are impossible

Source

Plato (Euthydemus [c.385 BCE], 284c)

Book Reference

Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.721


A Reaction

This problem pops up again in the twentieth century, with the quest for logical form. How can a lie be meaningful if it doesn't refer to anything?