Abstract
An argument is self-defeating when it contains defeaters for some of its own defeasible lines. It is shown that the obvious rules for defeat among arguments do not handle self-defeating arguments correctly. It turns out that they constitute a pervasive phenomenon that threatens to cripple defeasible reasoning, leading to almost all defeasible reasoning being defeated by unexpected interactions with self-defeating arguments. This leads to some important changes in the general theory of defeasible reasoning.
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Pollock, J.L. Self-defeating arguments. Minds and Machines 1, 367–392 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00352916
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00352916