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3 Definitions

Paradox

For Paradox we have terms and definitions in 3 topics. The topics are Evolution, International Economics and Poetry.



Paradox (Evolution)

A seemingly absurd or contradictory, though often true, statement.


Paradox (International Economics)

As used in economics, it seems to mean something unexpected, rather than the more extreme normal meaning of something seemingly impossible. Some paradoxes are just theoretical results that go against what one thinks of as normal. Others, like the Leontief paradox, are empirical findings that seem to contradict theoretical predictions.


Paradox (Poetry)

A statement which contains seemingly contradictory elements or appears contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as perhaps, or indeed, true when viewed from another angle, such as Alexander Pope's statement, in An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, that a literary critic could "damn with faint praise."
Sidelight: A paradox can be in a situation as well as a statement. The effectiveness of a paradox lies in the startling impact of its apparent absurdity on the reader, which serves to highlight the truth of the statement. An oxymoron is similar to a paradox, but more compact.
Sidelight: Sometimes an entire poem centers on a paradoxical situation or statement, as in Richard Lovelace's "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars."
(See also Catachresis, Enallage, Malapropism, Mixed Metaphor, Synesthesia)
(Compare Hudibrastic Verse, Satire)


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