Philosophy Now Forum

Every rule has an exception.

True or false?

(At the least the claim is not self contradictory.)

I would say: false.

I can think of a rule that has no exceptions: all human beings have to die one day.

Or: 2 plus 2 equals 4.

I would therefore correct and say: Almost every rule has an exception.

some rules have inches AND centimeters...

-Imp

I'd say that answers that.

Also of course wiki has something to say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_paradox

It did not occur to me that "every rule has an exception" is itself a rule.

I thought it was a statement of .... fact ?
Certainly not a moral judgment.

Is every statement of fact a rule ?
What is a rule ?

Could we say: "as a rule, every rule has an exception" ?

If we define a rule as a statement of fact which is most of the time true but sometimes (exceptionally) not true then almost every statement would be a rule ?

Difficult.

Do not sneak out Wootah. Be a man.
Present your own mental products for an honest discussion.

You challenge my manhood!!!! Actually I don't know what else I want to say Duszek. I had a crazy idea and threw it out there. But I'm happy to discuss it with you.

all human beings have to die one day. - is not a rule is a fact of nature

2 plus 2 equals 4 - seems to me to prove my statement wrong.

Every rule has an exception - I actually agree with you that it doesn't appear to be a rule but just a statement

I think a rule is a man made thing. Perhaps i mean every law has an exception? I think that what I am trying to get it that is a circumstance is conceivable where the rule bends to the circumstance or will cease being just. I think this train of thought is antithetical to TBeiter.

there are absolutely no absolutes...

except this one?

-Imp

I was joking ...
assuming that as a rule a real man will understand and enjoy the joke ...

A good starting point: a law.
Is every law a rule and every rule a law ?

The law of gravitation is a natural law.
Two objects attract each other.

If we drop something on the floor the earth attracts it.
If we drop the same object on the moon the moon will attract it but seven times less strongly.

I wonder if there is an exception to this.

We could define a rule as a high statistical probability.

As a rule a clover-leaf has three parts.
But sometimes, exceptionally, it can have four parts.

By comparison, the law of gravitation is not just a rule, it applies always, so it is a law and not (merely) a rule.

If we define a rule in this way a rule must allow exceptions.
A rule without an exception would stop being a rule, it would become something else: a law.

"law" of gravity?

who enforces it?

what is the penalty for breaking it?

-Imp

It enforces itself.

You cannot break it, but you can forget about it, with disastrous consequences at times.