自相矛盾
Two claims that clash
Read, find evidence, and explain in your own words.
Read
楚国有个卖兵器的人，在集市上摆出矛和盾。他先举起盾，大声夸赞：我的盾特别坚固，不管多锋利的东西，都刺不穿它！路过的人停下脚步，想听听他还会说些什么。
A weapons seller in Chu displayed spears and shields at a market. Holding up a shield, he claimed that nothing, however sharp, could pierce it. Passers-by stopped to listen to what he would say next.
接着，他又拿起一支矛，说：我的矛特别锋利，什么东西都能刺穿！一个人听完，问道：那么，用你的矛来刺你的盾，会怎么样呢？周围的人也望着他，等他回答。
Next he held up a spear and claimed it could pierce anything. A listener asked what would happen if that spear struck that shield. The people around him waited for an answer.
卖兵器的人张了张嘴，却答不出来。如果矛能刺穿盾，盾就不是任何东西都刺不穿；如果盾挡住了矛，矛就不是任何东西都能刺穿。他的两句话单独听很厉害，放在一起却不能同时成立。
The seller opened his mouth but could not answer. If the spear pierced the shield, the shield was not impossible to pierce. If the shield stopped it, the spear could not pierce everything. Each claim sounded impressive alone, but both could not be true together.
Explore the text
根据《韩非子·难一》改写，市场上的动作是补写。矛用来刺，盾用来挡。这里练习检查两个说法能否同时成立，不是说所有不同意见都叫矛盾。
Adapted from Han Feizi, Difficulties I, with added market details. A spear thrusts; a shield blocks. We are checking whether two claims can both be true. Merely having different opinions is not always a contradiction.
Words to practise
自相矛盾问