The unexpected (?) hanging

[Japher]

I just don't understand how backward reasoning confirms forward logic.

Whatever

The fact that they guy didn't think he would be hanged at all, and he was, ergo he was surprised. In addition, he was hung at noon and in the following week.

[SpencerH]

Y'all have totally missed the point.

[Japher]

thanks for sharing

[Ben Kenobi]

D sounds like a way around it. B, assumes that you will be informed the day prior to execution.

[MikeH]

e) "Wait, you can't hang me today it's illogic..." *urk*

The prison guards are just ****ing with him and don't give a crap about logic.

[Main_Brain]

Q: Why was the prisoner hanged?

A: Prisoners are usually hanged because they commited a Crime

[SpencerH]

Ding! Ding! Ding! MikeH wins!

[KrazyHorse]

No.

[MikeH]

You think the prison guards do care about logic?

[KrazyHorse]

I think that the prison guards in your scenario have behaved perfectly logically, and have not transgressed any of the judge's edicts.

[MikeH]

That's irrelevant to whether they give a crap about it or not.

[KrazyHorse]

Yes, but whether or not they give a crap about it is irrelevant to the problem at hand (so long as they are bound by it).

[Japher]

Maybe the prison guards are hooked on crack and are being blackmailed by their dealer with pictures of them in compromising positions with each other... Ya, that's it... I'll just keep making assumptions until I winner.

[YurYu]

I'm surprised at how popular (b) is. To me it's the absolute worst answer as it denies induction as a valid tool.

I still voted B because I couldn't figure out why it doesn't work like that.

Until I put the days behind each other.
On Monday the prisoner will be hanged on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
But not on Saturday because then he would know on Friday that he would be hanged on Saturday.
So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Now the same applies for Friday. Etcetera.
Basically what loinburger said.

But what I still don't get is:

Note that you can easily remove the logical contradiction in the original problem by restating as follows:

a') If you are hanged you will be hanged in the following week
b') If you are hanged you will be hanged at noon
c) You will not know in advance that you are to be hanged

Why does this remove the logical contradiction?
Why is b) or b') relevant to the problem?

[Zevico]

Examine proposition (c) carefully: "you will not know in advice that you are to be hanged."

I.e. you have no idea if you will ever get hanged. However if you do get hanged, then
(a) it will happen next week and
(b) it will happen at noon.

Edit--it seems I've made a mistake on this. I assume the apostrophes indicate that prop (a) and (b) are mutually exclusive.

assume prop (c)= you will be hanged sometime next week, but you don't know on what day. You cannot know that both (a) you will be hanged in the following week and (b) you will be hanged at noon. You've explained why this is so.