Catch-22 (logic)
Encyclopedia
A Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller
in his novel Catch-22
, is a logical paradox
arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired with an action that will lead him to that very situation he is already in; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes logically impossible. Catch-22s are often spoken with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring.
Catch-22, as formulated by Heller
, involves the case of John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces
bombardier
, who wishes to be grounded from combat flight. This will only happen if he is evaluated by the squadron's flight surgeon
and found "unfit to fly." "Unfit" would be any pilot who is unwilling to fly such dangerous missions, as one would have to be mad
to volunteer for possible death. However, to be evaluated, he must request the evaluation, an act that is considered sufficient proof for being declared sane. These conditions make it impossible to be declared "unfit."
The "Catch-22" is that "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy." Hence, pilots who request a mental fitness evaluation are sane, and therefore must fly in combat. At the same time, if an evaluation is not requested by the pilot, he will never receive one and thus can never be found insane, meaning he must also fly in combat.
Therefore, Catch-22 ensures that no pilot can ever be grounded for being insane even if he is.
A logical formulation of this situation is:
, Catch-22 is invoked to explain or justify the military bureaucracy. For example, in the first chapter it requires Yossarian to sign his name to letters that he censors while he is confined to a hospital bed. One clause mentioned in chapter 10 closes a loophole in promotions, which one private had been exploiting to reattain the attractive rank of Private First Class
after any promotion. Through courts-martial for going AWOL, he would be busted in rank back to private, but Catch-22 limited the number of times he could do this before being sent to the stockade.
In chapter 6, Yossarian is told that Catch-22 requires him to do anything his commanding officer tells him to do, regardless of whether these orders contradict orders from the officer's superiors. In Chapter 39 an old woman relates that soldiers had claimed that the actual text of Catch-22 did not have to be revealed when carrying out orders related to it, meaning that "they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing." This exchange convinces Yossarian that Catch-22 does not even exist, but because the powers that be claim it does, and the world believes it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. Indeed, because it does not exist there is no way it can be repealed, undone, overthrown, or denounced.
At one point, Captain Black pressures Milo into depriving Major Major of food based on fabricated charges by comparing the situation to Catch-22. He asks, "You're not against Catch-22, are you?" Captain Black wants Major Major punished for not signing a loyalty oath, despite never having given Major the opportunity to sign it.
At another point, after intercourse, Luciana explains to Yossarian that she cannot marry him because he is crazy for wanting to marry her, since she is not a virgin.
In chapter 40, Catch-22 forces Colonels Korn and Cathcart to promote Yossarian to Major and ground him rather than simply sending him home. They fear that if they do not, others will refuse to fly, just as Yossarian did.
. The title was originally Catch-18, but Heller changed it after the popular Mila 18
was published a short time beforehand.
Situations which have logical similarities to a Catch-22.
Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
in his novel Catch-22
Catch-22
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
, is a logical paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired with an action that will lead him to that very situation he is already in; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes logically impossible. Catch-22s are often spoken with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring.
Logic
The archetypalArchetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
Catch-22, as formulated by Heller
Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
, involves the case of John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
bombardier
Bombardier (air force)
A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
, who wishes to be grounded from combat flight. This will only happen if he is evaluated by the squadron's flight surgeon
Flight surgeon
A flight surgeon is a military medical officer assigned to duties in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine...
and found "unfit to fly." "Unfit" would be any pilot who is unwilling to fly such dangerous missions, as one would have to be mad
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
to volunteer for possible death. However, to be evaluated, he must request the evaluation, an act that is considered sufficient proof for being declared sane. These conditions make it impossible to be declared "unfit."
The "Catch-22" is that "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy." Hence, pilots who request a mental fitness evaluation are sane, and therefore must fly in combat. At the same time, if an evaluation is not requested by the pilot, he will never receive one and thus can never be found insane, meaning he must also fly in combat.
Therefore, Catch-22 ensures that no pilot can ever be grounded for being insane even if he is.
A logical formulation of this situation is:
-
(PremisePremisePremise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
: If a person is excused from flying (E), that must be because he is both insane (I), and requests an evaluation (R)); -
(PremisePremisePremise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
: If a person is insane (I), he should not realize that he is, and would have no reason to request an evaluation) -
(2, Definition of implication: since an insane person would not request an evaluation, it follows that all people must either not be insane, or not request an evaluation) -
(3, De Morgan: since all people must either not be insane, or not request an evaluation, it follows that no person is both insane and requests an evaluation) -
(4, 1, Modus TollensModus tollensIn classical logic, modus tollens has the following argument form:- Formal notation :...
: since a person may be excused from flying only if he is both insane and requests an evaluation, but no person can be both insane and request an evaluation, it follows that no person can be excused from flying)
Other uses from the novel
Besides referring to an unsolvable logical dilemmaDilemma
A dilemma |proposition]]") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is practically acceptable. One in this position has been traditionally described as "being on the horns of a dilemma", neither horn being comfortable...
, Catch-22 is invoked to explain or justify the military bureaucracy. For example, in the first chapter it requires Yossarian to sign his name to letters that he censors while he is confined to a hospital bed. One clause mentioned in chapter 10 closes a loophole in promotions, which one private had been exploiting to reattain the attractive rank of Private First Class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
after any promotion. Through courts-martial for going AWOL, he would be busted in rank back to private, but Catch-22 limited the number of times he could do this before being sent to the stockade.
In chapter 6, Yossarian is told that Catch-22 requires him to do anything his commanding officer tells him to do, regardless of whether these orders contradict orders from the officer's superiors. In Chapter 39 an old woman relates that soldiers had claimed that the actual text of Catch-22 did not have to be revealed when carrying out orders related to it, meaning that "they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing." This exchange convinces Yossarian that Catch-22 does not even exist, but because the powers that be claim it does, and the world believes it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. Indeed, because it does not exist there is no way it can be repealed, undone, overthrown, or denounced.
At one point, Captain Black pressures Milo into depriving Major Major of food based on fabricated charges by comparing the situation to Catch-22. He asks, "You're not against Catch-22, are you?" Captain Black wants Major Major punished for not signing a loyalty oath, despite never having given Major the opportunity to sign it.
At another point, after intercourse, Luciana explains to Yossarian that she cannot marry him because he is crazy for wanting to marry her, since she is not a virgin.
In chapter 40, Catch-22 forces Colonels Korn and Cathcart to promote Yossarian to Major and ground him rather than simply sending him home. They fear that if they do not, others will refuse to fly, just as Yossarian did.
Real-life examples
Examples of Catch-22 can be found in real life, although none are the "real" Catch-22. Common examples include the following:- QWERTYQWERTYQWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
was originally designed as an intentionally inefficient keyboard arrangement to slow down typists so that mechnical keyboards wouldn't jam, but digital computers aren't supposed to jam no matter what speed human typists could reasonably be expected to achieve. There is no technical reason to continue using the inefficient QWERTY arrangement when more efficient alternatives such as DVORAKDvorák- Dvořák or Dvorak :* Ann Dvorak , American film actress* Antonín Dvořák , Czech composer of Romantic music* August Dvorak , American psychologist, co-creator of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard...
are availible. But until computer keyboard manufacturers begin manufacturing keyboards with a more efficent keyboard arrangement, typists won't be retrained to use a more efficient arrangement, and until typists are retrained to use a more efficient arrangement, computer keyboard manufactuers won't manufacture them. - One is unlikely to purchase a hydrogen-fueled vehicle without there being a network of hydrogen stations from which to fill up. However, creating a network of hydrogen stations is not viable until there are enough hydrogen vehicles to create the demand.
- Americans in both the living room and the boardroom are growing more fearful about the economy, creating a Catch-22 for the job market: shoppers will not spend until they feel more secure (as in, being employed), and businesses will not hire until people start spending.
- A man tries to get a job with a company, but they won't hire him because he has no work experience in that field. He cannot gain work experience because he cannot get a job in that field without experience.
Significance of the number 22
Heller originally wanted to call the phrase, and hence the book, by other numbers, but he and his publishers eventually settled on 22. The number has no particular significance; it was chosen more or less for euphonyEuphony
Phonaesthetics is the claim or study of inherent pleasantness or beauty or unpleasantness of the sound of certain words and sentences. Poetry is considered euphonic, as is well-crafted literary prose...
. The title was originally Catch-18, but Heller changed it after the popular Mila 18
Mila 18
Mila 18 is a novel by Leon Uris set in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland before and during World War II. Leon Uris's work, based on real events, covers the Nazi occupation of Poland and the atrocities of systematically dehumanising and eliminating the Jewish People of Poland...
was published a short time beforehand.
See also
Situations which have logical similarities to a Catch-22.
- Circular logicBegging the questionBegging the question is a type of logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proven is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise....
- False dilemmaFalse dilemmaA false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...
- a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options - IronyIronyIrony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
- No-win situationNo-win situationA no-win situation, also called a "lose-lose" situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, since all choices lead to death, the condemned is in a no-win...
– real choices exist, but no choice leads to success. - Kobayashi MaruKobayashi MaruThe Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional universe of Star Trek. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan...
– a scenario involving a choice between death of civilians or of the civilians and the officers who try to save them. - Reductio ad absurdumReductio ad absurdumIn logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
- The Lady, or the Tiger? – a short story involving a princess who must make a decision in a no-win situation.
- Chicken or the egg – a seemingly unbreakable cycle of causation, which has an unknown origin.
- Cornelian dilemmaCornelian dilemmaA Cornelian dilemma is a dilemma in which someone is obliged to choose between two courses of action either of which will have a detrimental effect on himself or herself or on someone near to him or her...
– a choice between actions which will all have a detrimental effect on the chooser or on someone they care for. - DeadlockDeadlockA deadlock is a situation where in two or more competing actions are each waiting for the other to finish, and thus neither ever does. It is often seen in a paradox like the "chicken or the egg"...
– in computing, when two processes reach a standstill or impasse, each waiting for the other to finish. - Double bindDouble bindA double bind is an emotionally distressing dilemma in communication in which an individual receives two or more conflicting messages, in which one message negates the other. This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other , so that...
– a forced choice between two logically conflicting demands. - Hobson's choiceHobson's choiceA Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. As a person may refuse to take that option, the choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it". The phrase is said to originate with Thomas Hobson , a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England...
– the choice between taking an option and not taking it. - Lesser of two evils principleLesser of two evils principleThe lesser evil or lesser of two evils principle is the idea in politics and political science that of two bad choices, one isn't as bad as the other, and should be chosen over the one that is a greater threat....
– a choice between two undesirable outcomes. - Necessary EvilLesser of two evils principleThe lesser evil or lesser of two evils principle is the idea in politics and political science that of two bad choices, one isn't as bad as the other, and should be chosen over the one that is a greater threat....
– anything which, despite being considered to have undesirable qualities, is preferable to its absence or alternative. - Morton's ForkMorton's ForkA Morton's Fork is a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives , or two lines of reasoning that lead to the same unpleasant conclusion...
– a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives. - ParadoxParadoxSimilar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
– a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. - Game of ChickenChicken (game)The game of chicken, also known as the hawk-dove or snowdrift game, is an influential model of conflict for two players in game theory...
– Two participants desire a positive outcome by taking an action, yet if taken by both the result is devastatingly negative. - Sophie's ChoiceSophie's ChoiceSophie's Choice can refer to:*Sophie's Choice , a 1979 novel written by William Styron which depicts a mother at wit's end faced with a forced decision in which any and all options have equally negative outcomes....
– a choice between two equally beloved entities, one of which must be destroyed to preserve the existence of the other. - The TrialThe TrialThe Trial is a novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1925. One of Kafka's best-known works, it tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor the reader.Like Kafka's other novels, The Trial was never...
– a novel by Franz Kafka. - The Captain of KöpenickWilhelm VoigtFriedrich Wilhelm Voigt was a German impostor who masqueraded as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and became famous as The Captain of Köpenick ....
- Gift of the Magi – Where two people in love with each other sell their belongings to buy gifts for each other, only to end up giving gifts related to the belonging they have sacrificed. (ie. A man sells a pocket watch to buy a brush for his wife. The wife then sells her long beautiful hair to buy a chain for the man's pocket watch.)