ILLUSTRATES Elias Fernandes
QUESTION Franklin Chagas Damasceno, Cariacica, ES
Paradoxes are apparently true statements that nevertheless contain a logical contradiction. The so-called Pinocchio paradox, specifically, is a variant of a more general one, that of the liar, which has driven philosophers mad for over 2,000 years. If the statement “I lie” is true, the person who said it is lying. If she is a liar, the subject means that she is telling the truth, which also contradicts the sentence.
The confusion started in the 6th century in the city of Crete, Greece. The philosopher Epimenides, born there, said: «Everyone in Crete is always a liar.» Now, if what he says is true, then he is also a liar. And he soon he’s lying. And then his sentence is not true. Oops, painted the paradox. Pinocchio’s version is the same thing, with a nose that grows – or not – included in the unfolding contradiction. The image above explains how it works.
Will will not
Another version of the paradox was created by the French philosopher Jean Buridan, in a hypothetical dialogue between two famous thinkers. Plato guards a bridge and says to Socrates: “If you tell the truth, I will let you pass. If you tell a lie, I will throw you off the bridge.” So Socrates says, «You’re going to throw me off the bridge.» If this is true, Plato has to let him pass and throw him away at the same time. If it is a lie, Plato has to throw it out, making the sentence true. (An inelegant solution would be to let Socrates cross the bridge and only then throw him into the river.)
I lie, therefore I don’t exist
The simplest variant of this paradox is the self-referential phrase “I lie”. If the statement is true, the speaker lies – which automatically creates a paradox. If she is a liar, the subject means that she is telling the truth, which also contradicts the sentence itself and leads to the paradox.
+ What is a paradox?
+ What is the Fermi Paradox, about contact with aliens?
+ What is Hempel’s Crow Paradox?
+ What signs indicate that someone is lying?
DO YOU HAVE A SOLUTION?
Self-respecting paradox has no way out
There are attempts to “solve” these liar paradoxes. All of them try to better detail the sentence. For example: «My nose will grow now (and not later)». Or “This sentence (and not others I say) is a lie”. There are those who criticize these alternatives, saying that they take away an essential part of the paradox. Without that, it really has no solution. Lucky for Pinocchio, who doesn’t really exist!
SOURCES Books This Sentence Is False: An Introduction to Philosophical Paradoxesby Peter Cave, and paradoxesby Roy T. Cook, and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy