Contradictions do not exist

I appreciate your response, examples, and patience XStrikeX. You stated "As stated in my first speech, I showed that paradoxes are contradictions". I would disagree that this was shown rather than stated, however I am willing to explore the possibility. It is true that the words are often used interchangeably in common usage. "1. My first example will actually come from Wikipedia. "If one ignores the rule Wikipedia:Ignore all rules, then one would be following the rule, thus not ignoring the rule. Yet if one follows the rule Wikipedia: Ignore all rules, then one would no longer be ignoring all rules." [1]" This is an interesting example, however it demonstrates a rule that is impossible to follow rather than a contradiction. The false premise in this statement is that ignoring the rule is following it. There is no restriction on other rules that may be followed, meaning it is possible to ignore this rule without falling into the circular pattern which makes it demonstrably impossible to follow. "2. Another paradox from Wikipedia. "If one adds Category:Category needed to an article, it technically no longer needs the category because it now has one. Yet if one removes the category, then the article now does need a category, so Category:Category needed will have to be added back." [1]" In this example the false premise is the category itself "Category needed". There is no contradiction here due to the fact that the requirement for an article to have a category is satisfied irrespective of what that category is defined as. "3. Now one from Atlas Shrugged, written by Ayn Rand, which I hope you are familiar with... maybe? Anyways, Rand repeatedly refers to the bad side of man as "evil." Rand must believe that evil does exist. But if man is only truly alive and good when he is true to himself and his virtue, how can evil exist? Where did it come from? How could this good and wonderful being called man, distort and pervert good to the point that it became evil? Good and evil contradict one another. The presence of both in this world is clearly a contradiction. There must have been a source from where good and evil came, but how can these two co-exist? [2]" I fail to see any indication of a paradox or contradiction in this paragraph. Good and evil are moral judgments and as such are subjective rather than quantifiable. I am especially confused by what is meant in the comment "distort and pervert good to the point that it became evil?"; perhaps you can elaborate on this so I can more adequately respond to what you intended to raise here. "4. Another contradiction from Atlas Shrugged. Fourth, Rand believes that men are made of a soul. A soul is supernatural in itself. We cannot see it. We cannot prove that it exists, but there are few who believe that it does not exist. If reason overrides all superstition, how can she make the claim that a man is more than what meets the eye? Does this not contradict the very essence of reason? [2] I guess that's all for now. Hopefully, we can agree to some definitions. " The only mentions I have encountered of man having a "soul" by Ayn Rand were either in reference to consciousness and reason or were in derision at the dichotomy which she termed the "soul-body dichotomy". This was less a belief by Rand in a supernatural existence and more a concept utilized to illustrate the disparate and often illogical ways in which "society" attempted to influence your perception of yourself as an individual. [1] Ayn Rand once said "Reason is man's tool of knowledge, the faculty that enables him to perceive the facts of reality." [2], and I would agree with the author it would invalidate her definition of reason if in fact she were to profess a belief in the soul as a supernatural existence; it would not indicate a contradiction but rather evidence that one of her statements is false. I look forward to your responses to the explanations I have given, and thank you in advance. Source(s): [1] - http://aynrandlexicon.com... [2] - http://aynrandlexicon.com...