paradoxes
Self-defeating truth claims
Paradoxes is the plural of paradox—statements or situations that seem self-contradictory but may contain truth.
The paradoxes of quantum mechanics challenge intuition.
A paradox can be a logical puzzle (Zeno's paradoxes), a surprising truth (the paradox that less is more), or an apparent contradiction in someone's character: She was a paradox—generous yet ruthlessly ambitious.
Meaning opposite to words
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- witClever, inventive humor
- satireMockery exposing vice
absurdity · Kafka · Catch-22 · double entendre · ambiguity · sardonic · dramatic irony · unreliable narrator
Contradiction between valid conclusions
- self-referencePointing to oneself
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
- ZenoGreek paradox thinker
- infinite regressUnending causal chain
tautology · syllogism · fallacy · counterintuitive · inconsistency · deduction · reasoning · proof
Study of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- existenceState of being real
truth · being · nothingness · identity · ship of Theseus · omnipotence · theodicy · time travel
State of perplexity
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- catch-22Paradoxical no-win situation
- impasseSituation without resolution
deadlock · trade-off · ambivalence · indecision · stalemate · trolley problem · prisoner's dilemma · moral dilemma
Unlimited extent or quantity
- ZenoGreek paradox thinker
- cardinalitySize of a set
- countableAble to be tallied
- uncountableNot able to enumerate
infinitesimal · limits · convergence · singularity · fractals · set theory · Cantor · continuum
Quantum superposition thought experiment
- wave-particleQuantum duality concept
- observer effectWatching something changes it
- relativityHow observers differ
- quantumSmallest discrete unit
irony
Meaning opposite to words
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- witClever, inventive humor
satire · absurdity · Kafka · Catch-22 · double entendre · ambiguity · sardonic · dramatic irony · unreliable narrator · absurdism
antinomy
Contradiction between valid conclusions
- self-referencePointing to oneself
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
- ZenoGreek paradox thinker
infinite regress · tautology · syllogism · fallacy · counterintuitive · inconsistency · deduction · reasoning · proof · circularity
ontology
Study of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
existence · truth · being · nothingness · identity · ship of Theseus · omnipotence · theodicy · time travel · causality
quandary
State of perplexity
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- catch-22Paradoxical no-win situation
impasse · deadlock · trade-off · ambivalence · indecision · stalemate · trolley problem · prisoner's dilemma · moral dilemma · no-win
infinity
Unlimited extent or quantity
- ZenoGreek paradox thinker
- cardinalitySize of a set
- countableAble to be tallied
uncountable · infinitesimal · limits · convergence · singularity · fractals · set theory · Cantor · continuum
Schrödinger's cat
Quantum superposition thought experiment
- wave-particleQuantum duality concept
- observer effectWatching something changes it
- relativityHow observers differ
quantum · entropy · thermodynamics · black hole · uncertainty
- brain teasersriddle, brain teaser, logic puzzles, puzzle, brainteasers
- Mental Challengeslogic puzzles, riddles, brain teasers, word games, thought experiments
- mind bogglersriddles, logic puzzles, brain teasers, trick questions, enigmas
- reasoningreasoning, reason, logic, inference, deductive
- mind-bendersoptical illusions, puzzles, brain teasers, riddles, illusions
- logicpremise, premises, conclusion, conclusions, inference
paradoxestautologies
Self-proving logical statements
truisms · axioms · self-evident truths · syllogisms · proofs
paradoxestruisms
Self-evident statements
platitudes · common sense · banalities · clichés · no-brainers
paradoxescertainties
Assured truths
clarities · verities · resolutions · explanations · solutions
- time paradoxSelf-contradicting temporal sequence
- grandfather paradoxTime travel logical contradiction
- time travel paradoxLogical impossibility from chronological displacement
- Fermi paradoxWhy no extraterrestrials yet?
- temporal paradoxLogical impossibility involving time
- Zeno's paradoxesArguments that motion is illusory