“All Cretans are liars,” said Epimenides, a Greek philosopher and poet who lived during the 6th century BC, and who, with this phrase, established one of the main paradoxes of Psychology. The surface of the iceberg regarding the need to question this statement has to do with lies, although the real key lies in the contradiction. This is how what is known as the Cretan paradox arises, sometimes also known by the name of the philosopher. And there is no correct answer, since it will depend on the interpretation chosen.
When Epimenides asserted that all Cretans are liars, he established a paradox. If Epimenides is considered to be telling the truth, it will mean that all Cretans are liars. The fact of the matter is that this would also include the philosopher himself. Therefore, the statement should be considered false. On the other hand, if this phrase turns out to be true, the Greek poet would have fallen into a contradiction. The conclusion obtained is that people are often difficult to understand, both their statements and their behaviors. And this is largely due to contradictions.
The Cretan paradox is very popular in the field of Psychology, but it is not the only one, there are many more. This is because these types of contradictory phrases are especially useful to be able to illustrate in a simpler and clearer way a series of concepts that are often very complex.
