Never trust a lawyer
The first case or the first case?
Today's problem is about Euathlos who is trained by Protagoras to be a lawyer. The condition is that he doesn't need to pay any fees until and unless he wins his first court case. But like all good British Asians, he doesn't want to be a lawyer, but a musician instead.
Protagoras wants his money and takes Euathlos to court. Whether he wins or loses, he believes he'll get his money. Euathlos thinks otherwise. The question is who's mistaken.
The problem seems to be a question of firsts. There also seems to be a problem with the combination of the conjunctions "until" and "unless". If I say "until", there might be several occasions when the condition remains unfulfilled. If I say "unless", the implication seems to be that Euathlos would have to win his very first case, not just the fifth or sixth. That's how he interprets the agreement.
The use of "and" doesn't help Protagoras, because it means that both conditions have to be fulfilled for the agreement to be true. He shouldn't have said "unless".
Cohen says that this is an instance where logic falls flat on its face because both parties seem to be right.
My advice to Protagoras would be to invest in a sign saying "All fees must be paid in full before admission to this course of study".
Today's problem is about Euathlos who is trained by Protagoras to be a lawyer. The condition is that he doesn't need to pay any fees until and unless he wins his first court case. But like all good British Asians, he doesn't want to be a lawyer, but a musician instead.
Protagoras wants his money and takes Euathlos to court. Whether he wins or loses, he believes he'll get his money. Euathlos thinks otherwise. The question is who's mistaken.
The problem seems to be a question of firsts. There also seems to be a problem with the combination of the conjunctions "until" and "unless". If I say "until", there might be several occasions when the condition remains unfulfilled. If I say "unless", the implication seems to be that Euathlos would have to win his very first case, not just the fifth or sixth. That's how he interprets the agreement.
The use of "and" doesn't help Protagoras, because it means that both conditions have to be fulfilled for the agreement to be true. He shouldn't have said "unless".
Cohen says that this is an instance where logic falls flat on its face because both parties seem to be right.
My advice to Protagoras would be to invest in a sign saying "All fees must be paid in full before admission to this course of study".
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