The Barber Paradox: On its Paradoxicality and its Relationship to Russell's Paradox.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Prolegomena: Journal of Philosophy |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/191533 |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | degrees of paradoxicality; pseudoparadoxicality; Russell’s paradox; the Barber paradox |
| Description | The Barber paradox is often introduced as a popular version of Russell's paradox, though some experts have denied their similarity, even calling the Barber paradox a pseudoparadox. In the first part of the paper, I demonstrate mainly that in the standard (Quinean) definition of a paradox the Barber paradox is a clear-cut example of a non-paradox. Despite some outward similarities, it differs radically from Russell's paradox. I also expose many other differences. In the second part of the paper, I examine a probable source of the paradoxicality of the Barber paradox, which is found in a certain ambivalence in terms of meaning. The two different readings of the crucial phrase yield distinct existential assumptions which produce the paradoxical conclusion |
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