Strategic use of the unsayable: Paradox as argument in Gödel's theorem

Abstract

Gödel's Theorem was the mathematical proof that has been said to mark the loss of certainty in formal logic; Lyotard named it as the beginning of the post‐modern reformulation of the nature of knowledge. Gödel's proof is also an eloquent paradigm‐changing text, demonstrating the inability of language, however perfect, to represent reality in a way that guarantees unambiguous communication. Instead, he uses paradox as an alternative form of argument that creates certainty through performance.

Key words:

• epistemology
• paradox
• Gödel's Theorem (or Gödel)
• rhetoric
• mathematics