A “Grab Bag” of Self-Refuting Positions
In his Introduction to Logic, Harry Gensler defines a self-refuting statement as “[A] statement that makes negative claims so sweeping that it ends up denying itself.” [1] In other words, it results when an argument or position is undercut by its own criteria (An example of this would be saying, “I cannot speak a word of English” in English). Off the top of my head and in no particular order, here’s a grab-bag of several self-refuting positions which I’ve documented over the years:
- Truth does not exist (Is that a true statement?)
- Nothing is absolute (Is that absolutely true?)
- I do not exist (You must exist to deny that you exist)
- Science is the only way to know (Can you scientifically prove that?)
- Only what can be perceived by the five senses exists (Can you prove that by the five senses?)
- Nobody can know anything for sure (Do you know that for sure?)
- Nobody can know anything about God (How do you know that?)
- Talk about God is meaningless (Since it is a statement about God, this statement is meaningless too)
- Reality is just your interpretation, objective reality does not exist (That’s just your interpretation)
- “‘Everything we think and do is the function of our genes/nervous system’”: Is this belief itself just the result of genetic/neutral activity? If so, why trust it — or any belief we have? If your belief happens to be right, it’s just by accident” [2]
- There are no beliefs (You expect me to believe that?) [3]
- Everything is meaningless (So is that statement)
I’ll be adding to this as they keep coming to me, suggestions are welcome!
Notes:
[1] – Harry J. Gensler, Introduction to Logic (New York, NY: Routledge 2002)p:396
[2] – Paul Copan, Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion (Danvers, MA: Chalice 2007) p.62
[3] – Victor Reppert, C. S. Lewis’s Dangerous Idea (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity 2003)p.75
In: Contributors, political, theology
