The Law of Non-Contradiction: New Philosophical Essays - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199204195 ISBN 13: 9780199204199

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 2007

Synopsis

The Law of Non-Contradiction -- that no contradiction can be true -- has been a seemingly unassailable dogma since the work of Aristotle, in Book G of the Metaphysics. It is an assumption challenged from a variety of angles in this collection of original papers. Twenty-three of the world's leading experts investigate the "law," considering arguments for and against it and discussing methodological issues that arise whenever we question the legitimacy of logical principles. The result is a balanced inquiry into a venerable principle of logic, one that raises questions at the very center of logic itself.

The aim of this volume is to present a comprehensive debate about the Law of Non-Contradiction, from discussions as to how the law is to be understood, to reasons for accepting or re-thinking the law, and to issues that raise challenges to the law, such as the Liar Paradox, and a "dialetheic" resolution of that paradox. The editors contribute an introduction which surveys the issues and serves to frame the debate, and a useful bibliography offering a guide to further reading.

This volume will be of interest to anyone working on philosophical logic, and to anyone who has ever wondered about the status of logical laws and about how one might proceed to mount arguments for or against them.

About this title

About the Author

Graham Priest is at the Departments of Philosophy, Universities of Melbourne and St Andrews. JC Beall is at the Department of Philosophy, University of Connecticut. Bradley Armour-Garb is at the Department of Philosophy, University at Albany, SUNY.

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199204195
• ISBN 13: 9780199204199
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 443
• Editor: Priest Graham, Beall J. C., Armour-Garb Bradley