If a man walks up to you ans says, "Everything I tell you is a lie." Is he telling the truth or lieing?
2006-08-04 19:25:54 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
That is a very famous paradox. Paradoxes have contradicting meanings. There is no posible answer to this question.
2006-08-04 19:31:56 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Let's look at the possible answers.
He's not lying: the statement itself rules out this possibility because it is a blanket statement leaving no room for any 'if', 'ands', or 'buts' that could allow for him to be telling the truth (given the premise that the statement is true because he's not lying.)
He's lying: if he's lying, then not everything he says is a lie. It doesn't mean that absolutely everything he says is not a lie, that he always tells the truth. It allows for a middle ground between the extremes of all truth and all lies. So in the end, he can lie about where he was Saturday night, but tell the truth about coming home happy.
Conclusion: he's a lier, and a bad one at that if he thinks anyone will believe him when he says he always lies.
2006-08-04 19:42:31 · answer #2 · answered by V 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is lying.
It is possible that it is NOT true that everything he tells you is a lie, AND that what he IS saying IS a lie. Because that just means that SOME or A LOT of what he tells you is a lie.
I think.....
2006-08-05 00:46:59 · answer #3 · answered by kikisdragon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He was telling the truth when he said that "everything i tell you is a lie."
2006-08-04 20:43:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hes lying. He just told you the truth and if hes lying, he is still telling the truth.
2006-08-04 19:31:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
he is telling the truth !!
because unless he says "everythign i tell u is a lie " , you didnt even have an idea that he might lie !!
2006-08-04 21:56:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think he is lying when he says it. He'd have to tell the truth at least once, even if it is while he is saying it.
2006-08-04 19:38:07 · answer #7 · answered by pebble 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he is telling the truth because if he were lying he would have told you that everything he said was true
2006-08-04 21:14:13 · answer #8 · answered by Jen B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's lying; he can't be telling the truth, because that would contradict his own statement.
2006-08-04 19:29:53 · answer #9 · answered by extton 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hey dude don't be phycso.
let me tell u something
if your mom calls u up & says "my boy am not your mother"
now tell me how u will know that she is telling truth or lieing.
2006-08-04 19:34:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋