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SEBASTI SERRANO
Paradoxes and the problem they present for logic can be traced as a subject for reection from
the Sophists to contemporary language philosophers and mathematicians, visiting Aristotle, Abel
and Russell along the way, during which time rhetorical algebra transitioned into syncopated algebra
and then to symbolic algebra. The paradox can be seen as an obstacle to aseptic reasoning, but it can
also act as a compelling stimulus for imagination and the practice of argumentation or persuasion,
a rhetorical tool that has encouraged rigorous thinking throughout history, in an attempt to avoid
concealed lies in all kinds of discourses. It is, therefore, a challenge that inspires creativity within a
culture indebted to the rhetorical tradition.
Keywords: rhetoric, logic, argumentation, paradox, self-reference.
PARADOXES IN CLASSICAL RHETORIC
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Nikthestoned
THE FORMULATION
of reflection for Aristotle in his
is why some schools, such as
research on the fundamental laws
Stoics
or Megarians, formulated
OF MATHEMATICS, THE
of the art of good reasoning. In
alternative
non-syllogistic logical
PROCESS OF SYMBOLISATION
addition, Aristotle also reflected
structures that allowed them to
AND FORMALISATION,
upon the arguments of geometrists
operate with more flexibility and
REPRESENTS ONE OF
attempting to discover the art
fluidity. A good example were the
of deduction, of demonstration,
two inference rules called modus
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE
in order to overcome the long
ponens
that is, if p then q; we
METHODOLOGICAL AND
crisis related to irrational and
assert p, therefore q and modus
EPISTEMOLOGICAL EFFORTS
infinitesimal numbers. Zenos
tollens if p, then q; so no q, then
OF THE HUMAN MIND
paradox, with Achilles and the
no p.
tortoise, was the focus of many
Of course, since Plato, the
debates. The story goes like this:
validity of an argument had to
Swift-footed Achilles races against a tortoise and
be linked to the concept of truth, and that led to the
gives the animal a head start. When the warrior reaches
proliferation of a fascinating linguistic, logical and
the point where the tortoise was, it has already walked
mathematical phenomenon, those famous paradoxes
a little bit farther, so Achilles needs to run a little more
that sprang like mushrooms after rain on the field of
to cover that distance, but while he does that, the turtle
discourse. In this way, the Greeks formulated some
will have walked a bit more, and so on. Therefore, from
of the enigmas and logical puzzles that have tortured
a mathematical point of view and against empirical
mathematicians, philosophers and rhetorical experts to
evidence the swift-footed runner would never cover
this day. Sophists specialised in stunning and confusing
the distance that separates him from the slow animal.
their opponents during debates often as purely
Certainly, reflection on the validity of argumentation
rhetorical exercises in the arena of public speaking ,
must have become almost obsessive, as it was the axial
although most of them just wanted to stand out in the
point for both geometrical and rhetorical discourse,
swampy discourse of dialectical tricks.
the latter being, to a certain degree, the mother of all
There was a group of disturbing and perplexing
discourses. This is the reason for Aristotles interest in
enigmas that stubbornly resisted all sorts of inquiries.
developing a kind of taxonomy of argumentation, that
Most originate from what we know as vicious circle
is, a systematic classification that he called syllogistic,
fallacies, caused by neglecting the fundamental
with different types of syllogisms that opposed the
principle that implies that the whole of a given totality
rhetorical syllogism. The framing of syllogistic modes
cannot be part of the totality. For example, the welldid not have the flexibility required for most of the
known barber paradox has come to us from medieval
arguments used in geometry or in the Agora. That
logic. This states that the towns barber shaves everyone
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Many of the modern formulations in algebra and arithmetic are the result of transcribing the Greek ones, originally presented in different
ways via ordinary language, using words with a broad semantic spectrum. In fact, the algebraic formulation we recognise does not become
commonplace until the middle of the seventeenth century. Left to right, mathematicians Al-Khwarizmi, Fibonacci, Gerolamo Cardamo,
Niccoll Fontana and Niels Henrik Abel.
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From left to right, pictures of Georg Cantor, Bertrand Russell, John Von Neumann, Norbert Wiener and Kurt Gdel. The work of these
authors, among others, was crucial for the development of contemporary logic and mathematics.
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