A Wisdom Archive on List of Paradoxes

A paradox is an apparently true statement or group of statements that seems to lead to a contradiction or to a situation that defies intuition. Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true (or, cannot all be true together). The recognition of ambiguities, equivocations, and unstated assumptions underlying known paradoxes has led to significant ad ... Including:

• Paradox - Etymology
• Paradox - Common themes
• Paradox - Types of paradoxes

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Common themes in paradoxes include direct and indirect self-reference, infinity, circular definitions, and confusion of levels of reasoning. Paradoxes which are not based on a hidden error generally happen at the fringes of context or language, and require extending the context (or language) to lose their paradox quality. In moral philosophy, paradox plays a central role in ethics debates. For instance, an ethical admonition to "love thy neighbour" is not just in contrast with, but in contradiction to an armed neighbour actively tryin ...

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There are a variety of approaches to understanding prayer: The belief that the prayer is listened to and may or may not get a response; The belief that prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient; The belief that prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation; The belief that prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient; The ...

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Any action that specifically denies opportunities, privileges, or rewards to a person or a group because of their sex. Internationally, the United Nations concludes that women are facing a global glass ceiling and that in no society do women enjoy the same opportunities as men. In the most developed country, the USA, the Glass Ceiling Commission states that between 95 and 97 per cent of senior managers in the country's biggest corporations are men (...)The term 'glass ceiling' describes the process by which wo ...

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Prayer - Prayer in the Bible. In the Bible various forms of prayer appear; the most common form is petition. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the "social approach" to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled; God listens to prayer, and may or may not choose to answer. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Chu ...

Read more here: » Prayer: Encyclopedia II - Prayer - Prayer in the Abrahamic religions

Praying has many different forms. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca or the East); making the sign of the cross. A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning (mainly respect or adoration) associated with them: standing; sitting; kneelin ...

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Many people assume that when there is discrimination, one group of people is given more favorable treatment than others. This is not always the case. It is possible to have cases where it is not at all clear which group is given the more favorable treatment. Example: A country is under attack during wartime. The war is so ferocious that 80% of the combatants are killed. A law has been passed to forcefully conscript males between 18-24 years of age into the frontline, but females are forbidden to participate.

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Ageism is discrimination against a person or group on the grounds of age. Although theoretically the word can refer to the discrimination against any age group, ageism usually comes in one of two forms: discrimination against youth, and discrimination against the elderly. In many countries, companies more or less openly refuse to hire people above a certain age despite the increasing lifespans and average age of the population. The reasons for this range from vague feelings that younger people are more "dynamic" and create a positive ...

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To discriminate is to make a distinction. There are several meanings of the word, including statistical discrimination, or the actions of a circuit called a `discriminator`. This article addresses the most common colloquial sense of the word, invidious discrimination. That is, to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit. Examples include social, racial, religious, sexual, disability, ethnic and age-related discrimination. Discrimination - Government san ... Including:

• Discrimination - Government sanctioned discrimination
• Discrimination - Ageism
• Discrimination - The paradox of discrimination
• Discrimination - Gender Discrimination

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There are a number of philosophical paradoxes involving prayer to an omnipotent God, namely: If a person deserves the recipient of the prayer to give him the thing he prays for, why doesn't he receive it, even without prayer? And if a person is not deserving of it, then even if that person does pray and request it, should it be given just because of his prayer? Why should it be necessary to pray with speech? Doesn't the recipient know the thoughts of all people? If the recipient is omniscient (all-knowing) then ...

Read more here: » Prayer: Encyclopedia II - Prayer - Philosophical paradoxes of prayer