Euathlus and Crocodile paradoxes: dialectic solution’s advantages

Abstract

The paper is devoted to two ancient legal cases which, to date, have had no uniform solution: The Euathlus paradox and The Crocodile paradox. The aim of this work is not only searching logically faultless solution of both problems, but also developing the general approach to solving any similar cases without involving principles other than formal logic and the primary contract between litigants. The central problem of the research is that of incompleteness of this problem provisions, resulting in a set of various treatments the same questions. In the paper the following problems are solved: four exhaustive approaches to the problem of legal cases, which are called formal, authoritative, liberal and dialectic, are specified; the solution of the Euathlus paradox, which is inevitable with all the four approaches in the condition of their consistent application, is obtained; the solution of the Crocodile paradox, which is true with the dialectic approach, but impossible with three others, is obtained; it is proved that the dialectic approach not only combines the advantages of the first three approaches, but it is without their disadvantages that makes it a unique worthy applicant for the role of the universal approach.