--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is in the nature of paradox that…" description: "\"“It is in the nature of paradox that \"equations\" based on it do not work out. Where paradox contaminates human relations, disease appears.”\" — Paul Wat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/paul-watzlawick-17394_human-relations_it-is-in-the-nature-of-paradox-that-equa_2001122.png" --- # It is in the nature of paradox that "equations" based on… ![“It is in the nature of paradox that "equations" based on it do not work out. Where paradox contaminates human relations, disease appears.” quote by Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/paul-watzlawick-17394_human-relations_it-is-in-the-nature-of-paradox-that-equa_2001122.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/paul-watzlawick-17394_human-relations_it-is-in-the-nature-of-paradox-that-equa_2001122.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/paul-watzlawick-17394_human-relations_it-is-in-the-nature-of-paradox-that-equa_2001122.png) > ““It is in the nature of paradox that "equations" based on it do not work out. Where paradox contaminates human relations, disease appears.”” [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Paradoxical thinking can disrupt logical equations and, when it infiltrates relationships, can cause illness. **In simple terms:** Paradoxes can harm relationships. Key Takeaway Recognize and resolve paradoxes. Themes paradox communication health logic Mood analytical reflective Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - relationship counseling - conflict mediation - organizational analysis - health assessments Key Concepts systems theory psychotherapy Questions to Reflect On - How do paradoxes appear in your life? - What strategies resolve relational paradoxes? A Different Perspective Not all paradoxes are harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-relations/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) ## Related quotes > [“In human relations, all prediction is connected in one way or another with the phenomenon of trust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/in-human-relations-all-prediction-is-connected-in-one-way-or-another/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [If we have dwelled on Godel's work at some length, is it because we see it in the mathematical analogy of what we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/if-we-have-dwelled-on-godel-s-work-at-some-length-is-it-because-we/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [In Europe, where human relations like clothes are supposed to last, one's got to be wearable. In France one has to be interesting, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/in-europe-where-human-relations-like-clothes-are-supposed-to-last-one/) [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) > [Just as, in travel, one may miss seeing the sunset because one cannot find the ticket-office or is afraid of missing the train, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/just-as-in-travel-one-may-miss-seeing-the-sunset-because-one-cannot/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) > [A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is ability to articulate human relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/a-talent-for-drama-is-not-a-talent-for-writing-but-is-ability-to/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [More than in any other human relationship, overwhelmingly more, motherhood means being instantly interruptible, responsive, and responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-olsen/more-than-in-any-other-human-relationship-overwhelmingly-more/) [Tillie Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-olsen/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [At the critical juncture in all human relationships, there is only one question: What would love do now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/at-the-critical-juncture-in-all-human-relationships-there-is-only-one/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [ If \[people\] place such things as friendship and family ties above their own productive work, yes, then they are immoral. Friendship, family life and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-people-place-such-things-as-friendship-and-family-ties-above-their/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“And slowly a discussion begins - as Morrie has wanted all along - about the effect of silence on human relations. Why are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/and-slowly-a-discussion-begins-as-morrie-has-wanted-all-along-about/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/against-the-suffering-which-may-come-upon-one-from-human/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) Joel McDurmon > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More by Paul Watzlawick > [This is the secret of propaganda: To totally saturate the person, whom the propaganda wants to lay hold of, with the ideas of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/this-is-the-secret-of-propaganda-to-totally-saturate-the-person-whom/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“In fact, it seems that the more spontaneous and "healthy" a relationship, the more the relationship aspect of communication recedes into the background.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/in-fact-it-seems-that-the-more-spontaneous-and-healthy-a-relationship/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“It is not the issue here wether punctuation of communicational sequence is, in general, good or bad, as it should be immediately obvious that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/it-is-not-the-issue-here-wether-punctuation-of-communicational/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [The suicide arrives at the conclusion that what he is seeking does not exist; the seeker concludes that what he has not yet looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/the-suicide-arrives-at-the-conclusion-that-what-he-is-seeking-does/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [It is difficult to imagine how any behavior in the presence of another person can avoid being a communication of one's own view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/it-is-difficult-to-imagine-how-any-behavior-in-the-presence-of/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Frank Farrelly. . .must be thought of with respect (perhaps even delight?) by his clients who have so far played the game of therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/frank-farrelly-must-be-thought-of-with-respect-perhaps-even-delight/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction that, purely as a result of having been made, cause the expected or predicted event to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-is-an-assumption-or-prediction-that-purely/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Radical constructivism, thus, is radical because it breaks with convention and develops a theory of knowledge in which knowledge does not reflect an 'objective'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/radical-constructivism-thus-is-radical-because-it-breaks-with/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Man never ceases to seek knowledge about the objects of his experiences, to understand their meaning for his existence and to react to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/man-never-ceases-to-seek-knowledge-about-the-objects-of-his/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [Maturity is doing what you think is best, even when your mother thinks it's a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/maturity-is-doing-what-you-think-is-best-even-when-your-mother-thinks/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“The trouble is that everybody, myself included, has a brain in which the centers concerned with reason and logic are sitting on top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-myself-included-has-a-brain-in-which/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [If we have dwelled on Godel's work at some length, is it because we see it in the mathematical analogy of what we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/if-we-have-dwelled-on-godel-s-work-at-some-length-is-it-because-we/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [For an answer which cannot be expressed the question too cannot be expressed. The riddle does not exist...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/for-an-answer-which-cannot-be-expressed-the-question-too-cannot-be/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [You cannot not communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/you-cannot-not-communicate/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [“In human relations, all prediction is connected in one way or another with the phenomenon of trust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/in-human-relations-all-prediction-is-connected-in-one-way-or-another/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) [Explore all 37 Paul Watzlawick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) ## More Human relations quotes > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) Joel McDurmon > [Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/against-the-suffering-which-may-come-upon-one-from-human/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“And slowly a discussion begins - as Morrie has wanted all along - about the effect of silence on human relations. Why are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/and-slowly-a-discussion-begins-as-morrie-has-wanted-all-along-about/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [ If \[people\] place such things as friendship and family ties above their own productive work, yes, then they are immoral. Friendship, family life and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-people-place-such-things-as-friendship-and-family-ties-above-their/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [At the critical juncture in all human relationships, there is only one question: What would love do now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/at-the-critical-juncture-in-all-human-relationships-there-is-only-one/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [More than in any other human relationship, overwhelmingly more, motherhood means being instantly interruptible, responsive, and responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-olsen/more-than-in-any-other-human-relationship-overwhelmingly-more/) [Tillie Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-olsen/) > [A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is ability to articulate human relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/a-talent-for-drama-is-not-a-talent-for-writing-but-is-ability-to/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Just as, in travel, one may miss seeing the sunset because one cannot find the ticket-office or is afraid of missing the train, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/just-as-in-travel-one-may-miss-seeing-the-sunset-because-one-cannot/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) > [In Europe, where human relations like clothes are supposed to last, one's got to be wearable. In France one has to be interesting, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/in-europe-where-human-relations-like-clothes-are-supposed-to-last-one/) [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) > [With the Fall all became abnormal. It is not just that the individual is separated from God by his true moral guilt, but each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/with-the-fall-all-became-abnormal-it-is-not-just-that-the-individual/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [An honorable human relationship ... is a process, delicate, violent, often terrifying to both persons involved, a process of refining the truths they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/an-honorable-human-relationship-is-a-process-delicate-violent-often/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) [Browse all 352 Human relations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-relations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is in the nature of paradox that \"equations\" based on it do not work out. 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