Issue No.1 - Contradictions

Contradictions hold a special place in the sport of philosophical discourse. They are typically regarded as something to avoid or resolve in the defence of an idea; otherwise, they are pursued and revealed in the offense of an idea.

The contradiction antagonises our affinity for consistency, rationality, and linearity. That some thing is and is-not, that some thing and its very negation should co- exist simultaneously and oppose one another is an ungraspable (im)possibility.

To contemplate contradiction requires a tolerance that philosophical discourse does not praise, nor incentivise. That they provoke nausea when expressed through paradox, evoke estrangement under the guise of cognitive dissonance, arouse the poet, rouse the philosopher, and amuse the artist is something to behold.

Such a task of investigation requires an attitude of tolerance for the ambiguity of conflict without resolve. What to do with these strange yet supposedly impossible possibilities is precisely what this issue hopes to achieve. In this first issue of Contralytic, our contributors investigate contradiction – some with ease, others not so much.