Trilemma

Trilemma refers to a choice of three options, in which each of the three options appear to be unacceptable or unfavorable. The term is a neologism, the dilemma alludes to the Greek word with a choice of two options available. The prefix " tri- " stands for ' three '.

There are two ways to describe a trilemma:

The first mention of the term comes from the British preacher Philip Henry from 1672 Later -. In 1725 - and irrespective of Henry Isaac Watts used the term.

Trilemma in a religious context

Epicurus' trilemma

One of the first persons who formulated a trilemma, the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who rejected the view of an omnipotent and benevolent God was. He presented the following theses:

While these statements are traditionally attributed to Epicurus, there are also views that this statement was made ​​by a former skeptic, possibly Carneades.

Lewis' trilemma

A well-known trilemma is formulated by the Christian apologetics as proof of the divinity of Jesus. Best known is the formulation of the British writer and literary scholar CS Lewis. The trilemma is based on the assumption that Jesus claimed to be God, and therefore one of the following statements must be true:

Economic trilemma

→ Main article: trilemma of the exchange rate regime

In economics, there is a trilemma ( Impossible trinity called ) between government intervention on various financial markets: it shows the impossibility of simultaneously national monetary autonomy to achieve fixed exchange rates and free capital flows. According to the theory, only two of the three objectives can be achieved at a time.

The Munchausen Trilemma

→ Main article: Munchausen Trilemma

Munchausen Trilemma has reasons to object. To justify a statement is ultimately impossible: for either would run the reasoning chain on to infinity, in the reasoning chain eventually come to the causative statement itself before or the justification chain will be canceled in order to set a statement dogmatic than last.