Self-contradictory Statements in Context
Often statements can contradict themselves due to a difference in definitions while defining something. For example, the statement "A society is free if and only if liberty is maximized and people are required to take responsibility for their actions" is true or paradoxical, depending on the individual's definition of liberty. If liberty is taken to mean "the ability to exercise one's rights as provided for by the law and nature" then this is true, but if it means "the state when one is not held to nor required to perform anything against their will" then this is clearly false.
Read more about this topic: Fallacies Of Definition
Famous quotes containing the words statements and/or context:
“If we do take statements to be the primary bearers of truth, there seems to be a very simple answer to the question, what is it for them to be true: for a statement to be true is for things to be as they are stated to be.”
—J.L. (John Langshaw)
“Parents are led to believe that they must be consistent, that is, always respond to the same issue the same way. Consistency is good up to a point but your child also needs to understand context and subtlety . . . much of adult life is governed by context: what is appropriate in one setting is not appropriate in another; the way something is said may be more important than what is said. . . .”
—Stanley I. Greenspan (20th century)