72: Paradoxes and paraconsistent logic (Graham Priest)

October 21, 2012

Can a statement be simultaneously true and false? That might seem like sheer nonsense to you — but not to certain modern logicians. In this episode Massimo and Julia are joined again by philosopher and logician Graham Priest, who explains why we have to radically revise our notions of “true” and “false.” In the process, he explains classic puzzlers like the “barber paradox”: “In a village, the barber shaves all men who do not shave themselves. Does he shave himself?” Follow along for an episode that really takes to heart the podcast’s tagline: exploring the borderlands between reason and nonsense.