Sunday 9 May 2010

Non-Contradiction

"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."

- Ayn Rand

Instead of arguing about the veracity of this quote, I will quote Avicenna (Ibn Sina) from here.

"Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned."

You might not believe in non-contradiction and hence we might have contradictory beliefs. But that's alright, because we do not share the same premise. In a discussion or debate, it is necessary to have such contradictory beliefs, to make it interesting. Though, more often than not, such contradictions lead to altercations (even wars!).

What if one person has contradictory beliefs? Is it but not a recipe for disaster? If you believe in non-violence and at the same time are not fine with being a push-over, should you doubt why happiness is elusive?