What the Tortoise Said to Achilles

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter murshid_islam
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around Lewis Carroll's work "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles," exploring the logical implications and potential paradoxes presented in the text. Participants examine whether there are errors in the logic or if the story is indeed paradoxical, with references to philosophical and mathematical logic.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asserts there is no error in the logic, suggesting that acceptance of logical propositions requires acceptance of the underlying rules of logic.
  • Another participant expresses confusion about the paradoxical nature of the story and seeks clarification on any contradictions present.
  • A different participant challenges the notion of paradox, questioning where the idea originated.
  • One participant cites Wikipedia and a book reference to support the claim that the story is considered paradoxical, specifically mentioning the term "Carroll paradox."

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the story contains a logical error or is paradoxical, with multiple competing views remaining on the interpretation of the text.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference external sources to support their claims, indicating a reliance on definitions and interpretations that may not be universally accepted.

murshid_islam
Messages
468
Reaction score
21
"What the Tortoise Said to Achilles"

"What the Tortoise Said to Achilles" by Lewis Carroll: http://www.ditext.com/carroll/tortoise.html

What exactly is wrong with the logic here? Is anything wrong at all?
 
Physics news on Phys.org


No error. It is just noting that in order to accept any logical proposition as true, you must first accept the "rules of logic" as true. And, in order to do that, you must accept the rules used to construct those rules, etc.

That is why mathematical logic (I can't speak for philosophers) always starts with "given" rules and axioms.
 


I don't understand what makes this story paradoxical. Can anyone enlighten me as to where there is a contradiction or otherwise?
 


I see nowhere any mention of "paradox". Where did you get the idea that the story was "paradoxical"?
 


Wikipedia refers to it as the Carroll paradox. It is included in Micheal Clark's book Paradoxes from A to Z as the Paradox of Inference. Thus I get the idea that the story was paradoxical.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
5K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 115 ·
4
Replies
115
Views
10K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 276 ·
10
Replies
276
Views
28K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K