Fallacies of Contradiction

• Logical Fallacy of Self-Refutation / Conflicting Conditions / Contradicto in Adjecto / Kettle Logic: occurs when a statement is made that is inconsistent with itself to the point that it refutes itself. EXAMPLE "All things are relative. There are no absolutes." That is an absolute statement, though. If the statement is true, then it is not true. That is the meaning of a self-refuting statement.
• Barking Cat: The Barking Cat Fallacy occurs when a proposition is accepted except for one thing, which is inherent to the solution. This is a specific kind of fallacy of self-refutation. You can't have a cat that barks. You cannot have a follower of Christ that is a follower of Satan with all the associated sins. There are many cats that claim to bark but that do not. EXAMPLE From "Free To Choose" by Milton Friedman: "I would like to have a cat provided it barked." This example is the one that gave the fallacy its name. Milton is describing a fallacy that affects many things, but his illustration is government. People would like government if it acted differently. Milton states that the principles and forces that determine the behavior of government agencies are just as constrained as the principles and forces that cause cats to be cats. When Israel demanded a King, Samuel told them what the kings would do. People in human government always end up doing the same types of things because they are humans. EXAMPLE Sandy: "I wouldn't mind becoming a Christian, but I'm not going to have God telling me what to do."Roxanne: "The truth is that the only way that anyone can ever find fulfillment is when they are directed by the Holy Spirit. For this purpose we were created."
• Logical Fallacy of Contradictory Premises / Logical Paradox: occurs when premise statements contradict each other, when they are mutually exclusive. EXAMPLE "I don't believe something written in a book" [meaning the Bible, which never needs to change]", but I believe in science" [meaning the constantly changing information in the science text books].
• Logical Fallacy of Inconsistency / Personal Inconsistency: occurs when contrary or contradictory statements are asserted to be true at the same time and in the same way. EXAMPLE "The body of scientific knowledge is constantly changing as we learn more." . . . (one hour later) . . . "It is unscientific and anti-intellectual to question the current body of scientific knowledge." Either it is alright to question and change the current body of scientific knowledge or it is not. This type of inconsistent thinking is almost universal among evolutionists. When anyone questions molecules-to-man evolution, millions of year, Big Bang, and Atheism/Naturalism/Materialism, they are likely to run into this inconsistency. One the one hand, trust what we believe because we believe it. On the other hand, it is trustworthy because it is constantly subject to challenge and change.