Test the principle of contradiction with statements of your own, if you
wish, but don’t be disappointed when you fail to disprove it. Critical thinking in every subject from architecture to zoology depends on this principle.When exactly does contradiction occur? When a person says one
thing now and the opposite later. A suspect, for example, may today admit that he committed the crime he is accused of and tomorrow deny his guilt. Relativists argue that everyone creates his or her own truth and no view is more worthy than any other, and then they contradict themselves by castigating people who disagree with them. A scholar who propounds the view that the material world is an illusion and only the immaterial or spiritual world is real may take his neighbor to court in a property dispute. More than a few television moguls make the rounds of talk shows arguing that the violent, sex-sodden shows they produce have no influence on people’s behavior and then, almost in the next breath,praise public service announcements for AIDS prevention and the responsible use of alcohol for making the world better.
To overcome contradiction, monitor what you say and write. The moment you detect any inconsistency, examine it carefully. Decide whether it is explainable or whether it constitutes a contradiction. If it proves to be a contradiction, reexamine the issue and take a view that is both consistent and reasonable.
檢驗(yàn)?zāi)阕约簩?duì)于矛盾原則的陳述壮不，如果你希望的話养铸，但是當(dāng)你反駁它失敗時(shí)不要失望河胎。批判思想從建筑學(xué)到動(dòng)物學(xué)的每個(gè)學(xué)科都決定于這個(gè)原則披粟。什么時(shí)候矛盾實(shí)在的發(fā)生？是當(dāng)一個(gè)人說一件事現(xiàn)在是這樣隨后又相反的時(shí)候骚烧。一個(gè)懷疑伸但，比如說肢执，可能今天承認(rèn)他犯了被指控的罪，明天又不認(rèn)這罪了惰匙。相對(duì)主義提出每個(gè)人創(chuàng)造他或她自己的真相并且沒有觀點(diǎn)能比這些更有價(jià)值技掏，并且隨后反駁他們自己通過責(zé)罵不認(rèn)同他們的人。一個(gè)學(xué)者提出觀點(diǎn)說物質(zhì)世界是虛妄并且只有非物質(zhì)或精神世界是真實(shí)的项鬼，隨后他將他的鄰居因?yàn)樨?cái)產(chǎn)糾紛告上法庭哑梳。不止幾個(gè)電視大亨在脫口秀節(jié)目中爭(zhēng)論暴力事件，充滿性的秀對(duì)于人們的行為沒有影響绘盟，隨后鸠真，大部分人在下一次出席時(shí)，贊揚(yáng)預(yù)防艾滋病的公共服務(wù)公告和負(fù)責(zé)任地使用酒精使世界變得更美好龄毡。
為了克服這種矛盾吠卷，密切關(guān)注你說的和寫的。你發(fā)現(xiàn)任何不協(xié)調(diào)的瞬間沦零，仔細(xì)的檢查它祭隔。判斷它是否講得通或者它是否造成一個(gè)矛盾。如果它被證明是一個(gè)矛盾蠢终，再檢查這個(gè)事件并且秉持一個(gè)持續(xù)的有理由的觀點(diǎn)序攘。
