The irresistible force paradox (also unstoppable force paradox or shield and spear paradox), is a classic

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

formulated as "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" The immovable object and the unstoppable force are both implicitly assumed to be indestructible, or else the question would have a trivial resolution. Furthermore, it is assumed that they are two entities. The paradox arises because it rests on two incompatible premises—that there can exist simultaneously such things as ''unstoppable forces'' and ''immovable objects''. : Also available as

Origins

An example of this paradox in eastern thought can be found in the origin of the Chinese word for

contradiction In traditional logic, a contradiction involves a proposition conflicting either with itself or established fact. It is often used as a tool to detect disingenuous beliefs and bias. Illustrating a general tendency in applied logic, Aristotle's ...

(). This term originates from a story (see ) in the 3rd century BC philosophical book ''

Han Feizi The ''Han Feizi'' () is an ancient Chinese text attributed to the Chinese Legalism, Legalist political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition, elucidating theories of state power, and synthesizing the m ...

''. In the story, a man trying to sell a spear and a shield claimed that his spear could pierce any shield, and then claimed that his shield was unpierceable. Then, asked about what would happen if he were to take his spear to strike his shield, the seller could not answer. This led to the idiom of "''zìxīang máodùn''" (自相矛盾, "from each-other spear shield"), or "self-contradictory". Another ancient and mythological example illustrating this theme can be found in the story of the

Teumessian fox In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox, sometimes called the Teumessian vixen, was an enormous fox that was destined never to be caught. Mythology It was said that the Teumessian fox had been sent by the gods (perhaps Dionysus) to prey upon the ...

, which can never be caught, and the hound Laelaps, which never misses what it hunts. Realizing the

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, Lord of the Sky, turns both creatures into static constellations.

Applications

The problems associated with this paradox can be applied to any other conflict between two abstractly defined extremes that are opposite. One of the answers generated by seeming paradoxes like these is that there is no contradiction – that there is not a

false dilemma A false dilemma, also referred to as false dichotomy or false binary, is an informal fallacy based on a premise that erroneously limits what options are available. The source of the fallacy lies not in an invalid form of inference but in a false ...

. Christopher Kaczor suggested that the need to change indicates a lack of power rather than the possession thereof, and as such a person who was omniscient would never need to change their mind – not changing the future would be consistent with omniscience rather than contradicting it.Kaczor, Christopher (2009). ''This Rock'', 20(3).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irresistible Force Paradox Paradoxes Force Infinity

Origins

Applications

See also

References