Paradox

78 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PARADOXparts are from the same time. A number does not perdurebecause it has no temporal parts.Other philosophers say that Socrates genuinely enduresthrough time because the properties in question have atemporal aspect. The Socrates who had the property of beingill in the morning is identical to the Socrates who does nothave the property of being ill in the afternoon.KNOWLEDGE AND IDENTITYHeraclitus’s paradox of change uses dynamic individuals ascounterexamples to the substitutivity of identicals (the principlethat if x = y and x has property F, then so does y).Euclides’ riddle of the veiled figure uses static subjectiveproperties as counterexamples to the same principle. At oneand the same time, Euclides has the property of being knownby Socrates and lacks the property of being known bySocrates. In addition to having objective properties such asbeing a man, Euclides has properties that at least partlydepend on how people think of him. He can be popular onlyif many people like him. He can be famous only if manypeople know him.The challenge posed by the veiled figure is to explainmisidentifications. How can people fail to know true identitystatements? Socrates knows Euclides. Euclides is the veiledfigure. How could Socrates fail to know that Euclides is theveiled figure?The paradox of the veiled figure involves an error ofomission—failing to believe a true identity statement. Misidentificationscan also be errors of commission in which onebelieves that a true identity statement is false. Before Socrates