Test the principle of contradiction with statements of your own, if you

wish, but don’t be disappointed when you fail to disprove it. Critical thinking in every subject from architecture to zoology depends on this principle.When exactly does contradiction occur? When a person says one

thing now and the opposite later. A suspect, for example, may today admit that he committed the crime he is accused of and tomorrow deny his guilt. Relativists argue that everyone creates his or her own truth and no view is more worthy than any other, and then they contradict themselves by castigating people who disagree with them. A scholar who propounds the view that the material world is an illusion and only the immaterial or spiritual world is real may take his neighbor to court in a property dispute. More than a few television moguls make the rounds of talk shows arguing that the violent, sex-sodden shows they produce have no influence on people’s behavior and then, almost in the next breath,praise public service announcements for AIDS prevention and the responsible use of alcohol for making the world better.

To overcome contradiction, monitor what you say and write. The moment you detect any inconsistency, examine it carefully. Decide whether it is explainable or whether it constitutes a contradiction. If it proves to be a contradiction, reexamine the issue and take a view that is both consistent and reasonable.

检验你自己对于矛盾原则的陈述，如果你希望的话，但是当你反驳它失败时不要失望。批判思想从建筑学到动物学的每个学科都决定于这个原则。什么时候矛盾实在的发生？是当一个人说一件事现在是这样随后又相反的时候。一个怀疑，比如说，可能今天承认他犯了被指控的罪，明天又不认这罪了。相对主义提出每个人创造他或她自己的真相并且没有观点能比这些更有价值，并且随后反驳他们自己通过责骂不认同他们的人。一个学者提出观点说物质世界是虚妄并且只有非物质或精神世界是真实的，随后他将他的邻居因为财产纠纷告上法庭。不止几个电视大亨在脱口秀节目中争论暴力事件，充满性的秀对于人们的行为没有影响，随后，大部分人在下一次出席时，赞扬预防艾滋病的公共服务公告和负责任地使用酒精使世界变得更美好。

为了克服这种矛盾，密切关注你说的和写的。你发现任何不协调的瞬间，仔细的检查它。判断它是否讲得通或者它是否造成一个矛盾。如果它被证明是一个矛盾，再检查这个事件并且秉持一个持续的有理由的观点。