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Logic

The Liar Lied

Neil Lefebvre and Melissa Schehlein give an intuitive solution to the famous Liar Paradox.

This Subtitle is False

This article is about a well-known paradox that dates back to ancient times, known as the Liar Paradox, or sometimes, Epimenides’ Paradox. It can take many forms, but one of the most common is the following sentence:

“This sentence is not true.”

The problem occurs when you try to determine if the sentence is true or not. If it is true, one reasons, then by its own claim, it must not be true, which is a contradiction. But if it is not true, then what it claims must not be true, so its claim that it is not true, is itself not true, making the sentence true.

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