Aporia

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /əˈpɔːɹɪə/

Origin

From Latin aporia, from Ancient Greek ἀπορία, from ἄπορος (aporos, "impassable"), from ἀ- ("a-") + πόρος (poros, "passage").

Full definition of aporia

Noun

1. (rhetoric) An expression of deliberation with oneself regarding uncertainty or doubt as to how to proceed.
• 2012, Andy Martin, ‘Text Messenger’, Literary Review 404:Meanings are superposed in an aporia – not ‘either/or’, but ‘and/and’.
2. (philosophy) An insoluble contradiction in a text's meaning; a logical impasse suggested by a text or speaker.

Synonyms

• impasse, paradox, contradiction