In today's world, Performative contradiction is a topic that is becoming more and more relevant. Whether in the personal, professional or social sphere, Performative contradiction is present in one way or another in people's daily lives. As technology advances and society evolves, Performative contradiction becomes a point of interest to better understand the world around us. In this article we will explore different aspects related to Performative contradiction, analyzing its impact in various areas and offering a broader perspective on this topic that is so recurrent today.
A performative contradiction (German: performativer Widerspruch) arises when the making of an utterance rests on necessary presuppositions that contradict the proposition asserted in the utterance.[1]
The term was coined by Jürgen Habermas and Karl-Otto Apel, who attribute the first elaboration of the concept to Jaakko Hintikka, in his analysis of Descartes' cogito ergo sum argument.[1][2] Hintikka concluding that cogito ergo sum relies on performance rather than logical inference.[3]
Habermas claims that post-modernism's epistemological relativism suffers from a performative contradiction. Hans-Hermann Hoppe claims in his theory of discourse ethics that arguing against self-ownership results in a performative contradiction.[4]