Paradox of Self-Amendment by Peter Suber Similar issues arise in philosophy where the magical elements of law cannot support an answer. The ancient Greek skeptics faced the dilemma of speaking or not speaking. If they remained silent, they would persuade no one; if they spoke, others might construe their statements as assertions of knowledge and accuse them of self-refutation. The Greek skeptics chose to speak and, among the things they chose to say, to argue that skepticism and speech are compatible. If they said that they did not know something, and an opponent retorted, "Do you know that you do not know?" then the skeptics replied that their expressions of ignorance and uncertainty were "self-canceling".[Note 4] The expressions announced the speaker's uncertainty on the irreflexive topic, and then reflexively announced their own uncertainty, and so "canceled themselves". Sextus Empiricus compared such expressions to "aperient" drugs; Montaigne compared them to rhubarb:[Note 5] they washed out the system and then washed themselves out. A fair summary of the philosophical learning on the rhubarb theory of complete self-repeal is that non-skeptics ignore it, skeptics don't know, and logic and grammar are still far from the sophistication needed to rule on the question. But law is not limited to logic. A Rossian inference model that hews closely to the forms and procedures of formal logic would declare the rhubarb theory as paradoxical as self-amendment. Indeed, the rhubarb method of speaking and all other forms of self-repeal are but species of self- amendment. However a theory grounding legal authority in acceptance and usage can tolerate the phenomenon of a clause repealing the section of which it is a part, and thereby repealing itself. The section may be known to be repealed by virtue of an inconsistent appeal to the repealed expiration- directive, as if it were a valid rule after it became invalid. Or the section may be known to be repealed without any doctrinal justification in the face of paradox. These are the boldest ways in which the acceptance theory could domesticate the paradox. More sophisticated justifications could be contrived if needed. The inference model requires that a rule's superior, authorizing rule be in effect as long as the inferior rule is to be authorized. When the authorizing rule is repealed, either the authorized rule is repealed or it receives "transtemporal validation" (see Section 10). Ross denies that a repealed rule can validate anything, but we might find that a rule survives repeal in a limited sense, the sense needed to tell us that it is gone, for example, if it departed through self-repeal. This is not completely arbitrary, for our actual practice suggests that we appeal to the "repealed" expiration-directive as authority or evidence for the validity of self-repeal. That represents a form of transtemporal validation. On the other hand, for this sort of self-repeal or transtemporal validation we might even be comfortable with a Rossian tacit, transcendent rule that could tell us that the repeal had been effective. Alternately, the procedural model could justify the outcome (complete self-repeal) if the terms of the procedure (sunset clause) were valid and obeyed. Any contradiction between outcome and process is ignored by the procedural model. This avenue could justify self-repeal but would leave no sign for us to cite as authority for the effectiveness of the repeal. Or, most simply, the repeal could be authorized directly by acceptance, not the sunset clause, eliminating the contradiction and the strictly reflexive self-repeal as well. The best explanation of what actually happens, however, may be that genuine self-repeal occurs, and subsequently the repealed expiration-directive is cited as authority for the fact of repeal, with no thought given to the presupposed present validity of that language and its effect on self-resurrecting the repealed clause. Difficulties, especially if they are genuinely paradoxical, are simply ignored.[Note 6] The acceptance theory, in short, could tolerate partial self-repeal, and live with the idea of a grin outliving its cat even if the idea is inconsistent, metaphysically incoherent, or exegetically arbitrary. The acceptance model can also permit complete self-repeal, and live with the notion of an expiration-directive valid enough to cite after it invalidates itself, or perennially effective despite its expiration or invalidity, or totally invalid but not subjected to doctrinal scrutiny. If this is messy, self-contradictory, paradoxical, or even magical, nevertheless it may be law. C. Effective-date clauses Before leaving this section we should note the temporally symmetrical problem. If sunset clauses seem to require a validity after invalidation, then effective date clauses seem to require a validity before validation. A clause that says, This section shall become effective to all intents and purposes at 12:01 A.M., January 1, 2000 A.D. is known to be yet invalid in 1990, and that knowledge derives from the clause as if it were effective before it were effective. It must take effect — in some sense— sooner than it says if it is to tell us, authoritatively, that it is not yet effective. It is impermissible under the inference model either way, however, for it is either effective before it is effective, which is a contradiction, or it is self-applicable, which violates the theory of types. The effective date puzzle is a time-based or temporal paradox, but it has a spatial variant. If a clause of a contract said, "this contract shall be construed under Illinois law", then in one sense it applies before it applies, that is, before we know the content of Illinois law and independently of what that content turns out to be. If the contract was made in Arizona, and Illinois law said to use the law of the state where the contract was made, then the contract's clause would have led us on a circuitous route to Arizona law. But it authoritatively led us to Illinois law, and to Illinois' "pointer" to Arizona law, even before we knew whether Illinois law would in turn send us somewhere else.[Note 7] One may object that there is a slight but significant difference between the effective date and the sunset clauses. Effective date clauses belong to statutes already passed by legislatures (or other types of law already adopted in the proper way) and may be considered valid from the moment of approval and as governing only the rest of the statute. This is a makeshift, however. It is available to judges, certainly, and attractive because it actually does provide logical coherence, but it is a judicial response to paradox, not a solution latent in the language. Its inadequacy lies in the fact 102