Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

benardete's paradox

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
be-narde-te's -para-dox
IPA
30
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A philosophical problem whereby a man intends to walk a mile from a particular point, but an infinity of gods separately plan to obstruct him. One of them will raise a barrier to stop his further advance if he reaches the half-mile point, a second if he reaches the quarter-mile point, a third if he goes one-eighth of a mile, and so on ad infinitum. The paradox involves the fact that (i) the man cannot begin walking, because a barrier will stop him even at the shortest distance, but (ii) if he does not begin walking, no barrier will rise.

Etymology

Formulated by J. A. Benardete.

Phrases

Grim Reaper paradox

Frequently Paired Words

Grim Reaper paradox

Questions

What does benardete's paradox mean?
A philosophical problem whereby a man intends to walk a mile from a particular point, but an infinity of gods separately plan to obstruct him. One of them will raise a barrier to stop his further advance if he reaches the half-mile point, a second if he reaches the quarter-mile point, a third if he goes one-eighth of a mile, and so on ad infinitum. The paradox involves the fact that (i) the man cannot begin walking, because a barrier will stop him even at the shortest distance, but (ii) if he does not begin walking, no barrier will rise.
Where does benardete's paradox come from?
Formulated by J. A. Benardete.

How to pronounce benardete's paradox

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “benardete's paradox”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “benardete's paradox”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “benardete's paradox” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.