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Eubulides of Miletus: 2 ideas and puzzles worth knowing

2 ideas and puzzles from Eubulides of Miletus, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• A single sentence that can't be true and can't be false

  "This statement is false" — call it true, and it's lying; call it false, and it's telling the truth. First posed by Eubulides of Miletus in the 4th century BC, the liar paradox dro…

  — Eubulides of Miletus, recorded by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers (Book II, on Eubulides)

• A single sentence says it is false. Is it true?

  Consider the sentence: 'This sentence is false.' If it's true, then what it says is accurate, which means it's false. But if it's false, then what it says is inaccurate, which mean…

  — Eubulides of Miletus, Liar paradox

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