ABSTRACT
Ever since the Cretan philosopher Epimenides put forth the proposition that “All Cretans are liars,” paradoxes have challenged orthodox thinking. Paradoxes have not only paralyzed human interaction – as with the command: “Disobey my orders” – but also stunned numerous logicians and mathematicians.Whitehead and Russell considered paradox a central issue in logic, and devoted the introductory chapter of their Principia Mathematica (1910) to the problems arising from certain contradictions, and how to avoid them.The essence of their proposal is their Theory of Logical Types, which distinguishes between different logical levels – one being about the other – and demands that no proposition link and, thereby, confuse the two – or else contradictions and paradoxes are likely to arise. Since Bateson’s (1972, 1978; Bateson et al., 1956) recognition of Whitehead and Russell’s Theory, the notion of paradox has gained increasing importance in theories of human communication.1
