Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Do Logical Truths Carry Information?

  • Published:
Minds and Machines Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paper deals with the question whether logical truth carry information. On the one hand it seems that we gain new information by drawing inferences or arriving at some theorems. On the other hand the formal accounts of information and information content which are most widely known today say that logical truth carry no information at all. The latter is shown by considering these accounts. Then several ways to deal with the dilemma are distinguished, especially syntactic and ontological solutions. A version of a syntactical solution is favoured.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barwise, J. and Perry, J. (1983), Situations and Attitudes, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremer, M. (1993), Epistemische und logische Aspekte des semantischen Regelfolgens, Aachen.

  • Carnap, R. (1955), ‘Meaning and Synonymity in Natural Languages’, Philosophical Studies 7, pp. S.33–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnap, R. and Bar-Hillel, J. (1952), ‘An Outline of a Theory of Semantic Information', Technical Report 247 Research Laboratory of Electronics MIT.

  • Chaitin, G. (1997a), Algorithmic Information Theory, 3rd Edition, New York.

  • Chaitin, G. (1997b), Information, Randomness and Incompleteness, 2nd Edition, New York.

  • Devlin, K. (1991), Logic and Information, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dretske, F. (1981), Knowledge and the Flow of Information, 2nd Edition, Oxford,.

  • Floridi, L. (forthcoming), ‘Outline of a Theory of Strongly Semantic Information’, Minds and Machines.

  • Fodor, J. (1987), Psychosemantics, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J. (1994), The Elm and the Expert. Mentalese and its Semantics, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintikka, J. (1970), ‘Surface Information and Depth Information', in J. Hintikka and P. Suppes, eds., Information and Inference, Dordrecht.

  • Hintikka, J. (1973), Logic, Language-Games and Information, Oxford.

  • Shannon, C. and Weaver, W. (1949), The Mathematical Theory of Communication, Illinois.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Manuel E. Bremer

Authors
  1. Manuel E. Bremer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bremer, M.E. Do Logical Truths Carry Information?. Minds and Machines 13, 567–575 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026256918837

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026256918837

Search

Navigation