Paradoxes: Their Roots, Range, and Resolution

Paradoxes—sets of propositions that are individually plausible but collectively inconsistent—range from transparent tricks of word-play to more puzzling issues. For example, if the barber, an adult male in the village, shaves all adult males who do not shave themselves, then he both shaves himself and does not shave himself. In this fresh and uncluttered approach, Nicholas Rescher introduces the subject, surveys the entire range of types of paradoxes, and introduces an integrated theory of paradoxes. He explains and analyzes over 130 paradoxes, showing how they can all be handled by one approach.