Overview

Paradoxes are more than just intellectual puzzles - they raise substantive philosophical issues and offer the promise of increased philosophical knowledge. In this introduction to paradox and paradoxes, Doris Olin shows how seductive paradoxes can be, why they confuse and confound, and why they continue to fascinate. Olin examines the nature of paradox, outlining a rigorous definition and providing a clear and incisive statement of what does and does not count as a resolution of a paradox. The view that a statement can be both true and false, that contradictions can be true, is seen to provide a challenge to the account of paradox resolution, and is explored. With this framework in place, the book then turns to an in-depth treatment of the Prediction Paradox, versions of the Preface/Fallibility Paradox, the Lottery Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Sorites Paradox. Each of these paradoxes is shown to have considerable philosophical punch. Olin unpacks the central arguments in a clear and systematic fashion, offers original analyses and solutions, and exposes further unsettling implications for some of our most deep-seated principles and convictions.

Full Product Details

9781902683829

Table of Contents

Reviews

A fascinating survey of the status of many philosophical conundrums, and as thought-provoking a book as one could hope to find. Sunday Telegraph A valuable book by a substantial contributor to the philosophical literature on paradoxes. The outlines of problems combine accuracy with clarity and manage to cover technical background material with impressive economy and simplicity. It offers fair summaries of opposing views, along with cogent criticism and sharp, penetrating analysis. - James Cargile, University of Virginia A comprehensive survey of central contemporary debates about many of the logical paradoxes; but it is much more than that. It first organizes our notion of 'paradox', putting the rest of the book into a clear perspective, before going on to contribute in a masterful way to the arguments currently running in each of those debates. It is a gripping read and most persuasive. - Hartley Slater, University of Western Australia

"""A fascinating survey of the status of many philosophical conundrums, and as thought-provoking a book as one could hope to find."" Sunday Telegraph ""A valuable book by a substantial contributor to the philosophical literature on paradoxes. The outlines of problems combine accuracy with clarity and manage to cover technical background material with impressive economy and simplicity. It offers fair summaries of opposing views, along with cogent criticism and sharp, penetrating analysis."" - James Cargile, University of Virginia ""A comprehensive survey of central contemporary debates about many of the logical paradoxes; but it is much more than that. It first organizes our notion of 'paradox', putting the rest of the book into a clear perspective, before going on to contribute in a masterful way to the arguments currently running in each of those debates. It is a gripping read and most persuasive."" - Hartley Slater, University of Western Australia"

Author Information

Doris Olin is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Glendon College, York University, Toronto.

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