Benardete’s Paradox

Prometheus angers Zeus, who dispatches an army of demons with these instructions:

  • Demon 1: If Prometheus is not dead in one hour, kill him.
  • Demon 2: If Prometheus is not dead in half an hour, kill him.
  • Demon 3: If Prometheus is not dead in quarter of an hour, kill him.

And so on. When Prometheus is found dead, the council of gods is displeased, but they find it impossible to identify the guilty demon — any suspect can point to an infinity of demons who must have acted before him. Must Zeus go free?

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