The La of Non-Contradiction Ne Philosophical Essays [Paperback]

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 theMetaphysics. 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.

Introduction: At the Intersection of Truth and Falsity,JC Beall
Part I: Setting up the Debate
1. What's So Bad About Contradictions?,Graham Priest
Part II: What is the LNC?
2. On the Formalization of the Law of Non-Contradiction,Ross T. Brady
3. What is a Contradiction?,Patrick Grim
4. Laws of Non-Contradiction, Laws of the Excluded Middle, and Logics,Greg Restall
5. Option Negation and Dialetheias,R. M. Sainsbury
6. Conjunction and Contradiction,Achille C. Varzi
Part III: Methodological Issues in the Debate
7. DiaglC!