Gary Jaron answers “What does it mean - true words seem...”

Tanvika asked this question about Tao Te Ching:

What does it mean - true words seem paradoxical?

Gary Jaron DildoBaggins is correct. Paradox is a form of conceptual illusion, similar to the optical illusions. The contradiction is only on the surface. The two…moreDildoBaggins is correct. Paradox is a form of conceptual illusion, similar to the optical illusions. The contradiction is only on the surface. The two, Yin and Yang, are contextually present at the same time, but manifest in the different contexts. Lao Tzu, like Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher born in 544 b.c. was quoted by Plato as saying “No man ever steps in the same river twice." That to Aristotle seemed a paradox and a violation of his rules of logic. It wasn't. The statement, like all seeming paradoxes, are riddles waiting for you to see the shift in context that reveals the correct answer. Heraclitus was using the word 'river' in two contexts, a geographic location and the name for a dynamic flowing system of water that is traveling from source to mouth.(less)

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