Descartes through the Looking–Glass: Is it Possible to Believe What is Contradictory?*

Publisher： Cambridge University Press

E-ISSN： 1469-901x|21|2|169-179

ISSN： 0034-4125

Source： Religious Studies, Vol.21, Iss.2, 1985-06, pp. : 169-179

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Abstract

My text for this paper is taken from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. It is that well–known passage where Alice is having a frustrating conversation with the White Queen. Alice responds to some of the Queen's absurd statements by saying, ‘One can't believe impossible things.’ At which point the Queen snaps back: ‘I daresay you haven't had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half–an–hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’

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