Sorites paradox

The sorites paradox: If a heap is reduced by a single grain at a time, the question is at what exact point it ceases to be considered a heap

The sorites paradox (/soʊˈraɪtiːz/;[1] sometimes known as the paradox of the heap) is a paradox that results from vague predicates.[2] A typical formulation involves a heap of sand, from which grains are removed individually. With the assumption that removing a single grain does not cause a heap to not be considered a heap anymore, the paradox is to consider what happens when the process is repeated enough times that only one grain remains and if it is still a heap. If not, then the question asks when it changed from a heap to a non-heap.[3]

  1. ^ "Sorites". Omnilexica. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  2. ^ Barker, C. (2009). "Vagueness". In Allan, Keith (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics. Elsevier. p. 1037. ISBN 978-0-08-095968-9.
  3. ^ Sorensen, Roy A. (2009). "sorites arguments". In Jaegwon Kim; Sosa, Ernest; Rosenkrantz, Gary S. (eds.). A Companion to Metaphysics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 565. ISBN 978-1-4051-5298-3.