Chapter 58 <rabbit cold>

There is a folk tale of "The Rabbit with a Cold", which goes like this: The Lion King appointed Bear, Monkey and Rabbit as his ministers.Later, the Lion King got tired of playing with them and wanted to eat them.However, you have to find an excuse.Therefore, the lion king summoned his three ministers and said to them: You have been my ministers for a long time, and now I have to test to see if you have been corrupt after becoming high officials.Having said that, the Lion opened his mouth wide, and asked the Bear to tell him what smell came from his mouth.Xiong said bluntly: Your Majesty, the smell in your mouth is very bad.You have committed treason!The lion king roared, how dare you slander the king to his face.The crime of treason should be punished with death!So saying, the Lion jumped on the Bear and killed him and ate him.

Then, the lion asked the monkey again: "What is the smell coming out of my mouth!"Seeing what happened to the bear with his own eyes, the monkey quickly replied, "Your Majesty, this smell is very fragrant, as good as a fine perfume."You're a liar and a sucker!The lion roared, I love meat, and everyone knows that the only thing that comes out of my mouth is stink.All dishonest and flattering ministers are the bane of the country and must not be left behind.Then, he jumped on the monkey and ate him again. Finally, the lion said to the rabbit: "Smart rabbit, what is the smell coming out of my mouth?"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!The rabbit replied that I had a cold recently and my nose was blocked.Can you let me go home and rest for a few days until I recover from my cold?Because only then can my nose work to tell what smells coming out of your mouth.The lion had no choice but to let the rabbit go home.Needless to say, the rabbit took this opportunity to flee, never to return.

The smell in the lion's mouth is stinky and the smell in the lion's mouth is not stinky. These are two contradictory judgments.If the smell is true, then it is not false; if it is not true, it is false.The law of excluded middle requires that one must be affirmed and the other must be denied, but not both. The bear must have a real smell, but was eaten by a lion, and the monkey must not have a fake smell, but was also eaten by a lion.In this way, the rabbit is in a very difficult and dangerous situation.Because if the rabbit still answers like a bear or a monkey, it will inevitably lead to death.

In view of this situation, the witty rabbit avoided using a positive answer of yes or no, but adopted another way of answering: I have a cold, and my nose is not working.Since the rabbit did not deny the two contradictory judgments at the same time, it cannot be said that the rabbit's answer violates the law of the excluded middle.It is the unreasonable lion who really violates the law of excluded middle.Because he negates the two contradictory judgments of speaking should be honest and speaking should not be honest, that is, neither honesty nor dishonesty.Facing such a tyrannical and ferocious lion king who bullies the weak, what reason can the rabbit have?