Masked man paradox
E368057
The Masked man paradox is a classic logical puzzle about knowledge and identity that illustrates how substituting co-referential terms in epistemic contexts can lead to apparent contradictions.
All labels observed (4)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Horned man paradox | 3 |
| Bald man paradox | 2 |
| Masked man paradox canonical | 2 |
| masked man fallacy | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
epistemic paradox
ⓘ
logical puzzle ⓘ philosophical paradox ⓘ |
| addressedBy |
epistemic logic
ⓘ
intensional semantics ⓘ modal logic ⓘ |
| aimsToShow |
that co-referential names may not be cognitively equivalent
ⓘ
that identity statements cannot always be substituted in knowledge contexts ⓘ |
| basedOn |
identity of indiscernibles
ⓘ
surface form:
Leibniz’s Law
|
| concerns |
co-referential terms
ⓘ
identity and knowledge ⓘ intensionality ⓘ propositional attitudes ⓘ |
| exampleFormulation | I know who my father is; I do not know who the masked man is; therefore the masked man is not my father ⓘ |
| field |
epistemic logic
ⓘ
philosophical logic ⓘ philosophy of language ⓘ philosophy of mind ⓘ |
| illustrates |
distinction between sense and reference
ⓘ
failure of substitutivity in intensional contexts ⓘ limitations of Leibniz’s Law in epistemic contexts ⓘ opacity of propositional attitude contexts ⓘ problems of substituting co-referential terms ⓘ |
| involves |
belief attributions
ⓘ
knowledge attributions ⓘ |
| logicalForm | substitution of identicals in epistemic contexts ⓘ |
| problemType | apparent contradiction ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Fregean sense and reference
ⓘ
Kripkean rigid designators ⓘ identity of indiscernibles ⓘ
surface form:
Leibniz’s Law of the Indiscernibility of Identicals
belief ascriptions ⓘ de dicto belief ⓘ de re belief ⓘ intensional context ⓘ knowledge ascriptions ⓘ propositional attitude reports ⓘ referential opacity ⓘ substitution salva veritate ⓘ |
| resolutionApproach |
analyzing knowledge ascriptions with possible worlds semantics
ⓘ
distinguishing between different modes of presentation of the same individual ⓘ restricting substitution in intensional contexts ⓘ |
| typicalScenario | a person claims to know one individual but not recognize the same individual when masked ⓘ |
| usedIn |
discussions of identity and reference
ⓘ
introductory logic courses ⓘ philosophy of language teaching ⓘ |
| uses | epistemic contexts ⓘ |
Referenced by (8)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Horned man paradox
this entity surface form:
Horned man paradox
this entity surface form:
Bald man paradox
this entity surface form:
Horned man paradox
this entity surface form:
Bald man paradox
this entity surface form:
masked man fallacy