The Liar’s Paradox and the Form of Utopia

If I lie and I say that I am lying, am I lying or telling the truth? This ancient riddle, the Liar’s Paradox, is at the heart of Thomas More’s Utopia (1516). Because the Liar’s Paradox refers to itself while also negating the truth of its own proposition, it generates an unresolvable logical contrad...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inRepresentations (Berkeley, Calif.) Vol. 167; no. 1; pp. 64 - 96
Main Author Mann, Jenny C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berkeley University of California Press Books Division 01.08.2024
Subjects
Lying
Mathematics
Radicalism
Riddles
Utopias
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:If I lie and I say that I am lying, am I lying or telling the truth? This ancient riddle, the Liar’s Paradox, is at the heart of Thomas More’s Utopia (1516). Because the Liar’s Paradox refers to itself while also negating the truth of its own proposition, it generates an unresolvable logical contradiction. This essay recovers how scholastic logicians and modern mathematicians have grappled with the Liar Riddle, which provides a compact formula for capturing infinity. Drawing on these formalizations, I argue that Utopia uses the abstract techniques of logic and mathematics to inscribe an autonomous artificial system. This abstract formalization comprises utopia’s radical political potential: its ability to convert enclosure into a method of infinite expansion.
ISSN:0734-6018
1533-855X
DOI:10.1525/rep.2024.167.3.64