Maureen Eckert and Graham Priest

Maureen Eckert (left) and Graham Priest (right) on deviant logic.

According to classical systems of logic, anything follows from a contradiction: the relation of logical consequence is explosive. But recent decades have seen growing interest in “deviant,” paraconsistent systems that include non-explosive relations of logical consequence. Further, some deviant logicians, such as Priest, assert the existence of dialetheias (true contradictions). In this conversation, Eckert and Priest discuss whether and how deviant logic should be studied in the undergraduate classroom. Then (starting at 29:40) they look for dialetheias in the areas of emotions, legal norms, and contradictory fictions.

Related works

by Eckert:

Edited (with Steven Cahn): David Foster Wallace, Fate, Time, and Language: An Essay on Free Will (2009)

Edited (with Robert Talisse): A Teacher’s Life: Essays for Steven M. Cahn (2009)

by Priest:

Doubt Truth to Be a Liar (2008)

An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic (2001)

“Sylvan’s Box: A Short Story and Ten Morals” (1997)

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