Abstract
The fundamental form of a contradiction is a pair of propositions, ‘A’ and ‘Not A’, one the negation of the other. If such an explicit contradiction is part of a body of propositions asserted by some individual or group at a given time, it follows that not all those propositions can be true: by thus impairing the reliability of the proponent, the occurrence of the contradiction throws doubt upon the truth of all the other propositions asserted.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Dummett, M. (2018). Contradiction. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_585
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_585
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences