All about flooble | fun stuff | Get a free chatterbox | Free JavaScript | Avatars    
perplexus dot info

Home > Paradoxes
Oh my, Protagoras (Posted on 2002-10-19) Difficulty: 3 of 5
A Lawyer named Protagoras teaches law for a hefty fee. He advertises his skills as a teacher by offering his students a contract, which states that they do not have to pay him until they have won their first case. If the student loses their first case, then they don't have to pay Protagoras at all.

One student of Protagoras sees a loophole, takes the course and fininshes it. After that, the student avoids arguing any cases. Since the student has not yet won his first case, he avoids paying Protagoras.

Protagoras feels cheated, and sues the student for his fee. When the case comes to trial, the student represents himself. If the student loses the case, then by the terms of their original agreement, there is no fee for the course. If the student wins the case however, then, since its the student's first case, there will be a fee. (But, of course, winning the case means that the student doesn't have to pay the fee, while losing it means that the fee must be paid.)

Will the student be obliged to pay Protagoras' fee or not?

See The Solution Submitted by JOTU    
Rating: 3.1667 (18 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
Solution Possibly | Comment 6 of 37 |
The way i think, as soon as the judge makes his decision all that happened before becomes nullified, theyare not taken into account. If the student wins then Protogoras has been proved wrong in asking the student to pay after his first case, If Protogoras wins the student is forced to pay eventhough he hasnt won the case (Because the case has proved that Protogoras was cheated in not being payed)
  Posted by Dulanjana on 2002-10-20 14:50:21
Please log in:
Login:
Password:
Remember me:
Sign up! | Forgot password


Search:
Search body:
Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (10)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:
Copyright © 2002 - 2024 by Animus Pactum Consulting. All rights reserved. Privacy Information