Dr Tom Kerns

 

Study Questions for Lewis Carroll's

"What the Tortoise Said to Achilles"

• here is the assigned reading
  
  

1. If Achilles were not quite so obtuse, he might realize that the outcome of this little exercise with the tortoise will be (what)? I.e., explain in a sentence or two what you think the outcome of this exercise would be.
   
   
2. So what point do you think the tortoise is trying to get Achilles to realize?
   
   
3. What point do you think Lewis Carroll is trying to make in this story?
   
   
4. If you were to state Carroll's main point in the form of a standard Aristotelian syllogism, how would you form that syllogism?
   
   
   • major premise:
   • minor premise:
   • conclusion: