This law judges as false any meaningful proposition P and its denial, proposition not-P, true at the same time and in the same respect. In the words of Aristotle:
“One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time.”
for example a table can not be - both made entirely of wood and not made entirely of wood.
although it may be obvious to some but for those who deny/reject this law the below dialogue demonstrate how problematic the denial of this law can be-
A fictional dialog below, between two people: A and B...
(Hegel is a philosopher who is said to have denied the law of non-contradiction)
A: Are you still a follower of Hegel?
B: Of course! I believe everything he wrote. Since he denied the law of noncontradiction, I deny this too. On my view, P is entirely compatible with not-P.
A: I'm a fan of Hegel myself. But he didn't deny the law of noncontradiction! You read the wrong commentators!
B: You're wrong, he did deny this! Let me get my copy of The Science of Logic.
A: Don't get so upset! You said that he did deny the law, and I said that he didn't. Aren't these compatible on your view? After all, you think that P is compatible with not-P.
B: Yes, I guess they're compatible.
A: No they aren't!
B: Yes they are!
A: Don't get so upset! You said that they are compatible, and I said that they aren't. Aren't these two compatible on your view? Recall that you think that P is compatible with not-P.
B: Yes, I guess they're compatible. I'm getting confused.
A: And you're also not getting confused, right?
“One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time.”
for example a table can not be - both made entirely of wood and not made entirely of wood.
although it may be obvious to some but for those who deny/reject this law the below dialogue demonstrate how problematic the denial of this law can be-
A fictional dialog below, between two people: A and B...
(Hegel is a philosopher who is said to have denied the law of non-contradiction)
A: Are you still a follower of Hegel?
B: Of course! I believe everything he wrote. Since he denied the law of noncontradiction, I deny this too. On my view, P is entirely compatible with not-P.
A: I'm a fan of Hegel myself. But he didn't deny the law of noncontradiction! You read the wrong commentators!
B: You're wrong, he did deny this! Let me get my copy of The Science of Logic.
A: Don't get so upset! You said that he did deny the law, and I said that he didn't. Aren't these compatible on your view? After all, you think that P is compatible with not-P.
B: Yes, I guess they're compatible.
A: No they aren't!
B: Yes they are!
A: Don't get so upset! You said that they are compatible, and I said that they aren't. Aren't these two compatible on your view? Recall that you think that P is compatible with not-P.
B: Yes, I guess they're compatible. I'm getting confused.
A: And you're also not getting confused, right?
