Basic Questions on TruthThe task of the book is not to give a survey of the main theories on truth found in the literature. There are several books available which do this: The one of David for Deflationist (and Disquotational) Theories of Truth; that of Chapuis for Revision Theories of Truth; that of Kirkham for Correspondence Theories and several others; that ofRescher for Coherence Theories of Truth. Moreover the book is not an analy sis just of Tar ski's theory, like that of Moreno or the respective chapters in Kirkham, though Tarski's theory plays an important role in the whole work presented. The task of the book is to give a detailed answer to some basic questions on truth which have been perennial problems through the centuries and are still discussed today. The answer is given in the light of our knowledge today and with the help of modem logic. But the book explicitly aims at connecting recent problems with re lated ones in the whole history of philosophy. The method to incorporate important philosophers of the tradition into the analysis is that of disputation, i. e. of putting some of their main thesis into objections or counterobjections pro or contra a posi tive answer to the respective question. After the pros and cons are given a detailed answer to the question is proposed and finally commentaries and corrections are given to the objections and counterobjections in the light of the proposed answer. |
Contents
Is it appropriate to ask What is truth? | 1 |
Is it appropriate to ask for the meaning or for the definition of the expression truth the true or true? | 7 |
Is the expression true superfluous andor not a predicate? | 17 |
Can the rules of a deductive system be called true or false? | 29 |
Are defmitions true or false? | 45 |
Judgements propositions sentences | 80 |
Is a sentence true iff it corresponds to reality? | 108 |
Are there negative facts or properties? | 154 |
Can a false theory be nearer to the truth than another false theory? | 174 |
Ens et verum convertuntur? | 195 |
References | 207 |
223 | |
226 | |
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Common terms and phrases
according analogous answer applied Aristotle assertion axioms Brentano calculus called true chapter concept consequence class defined definiendum definiens definition of truth designata entities example existence expression true extension formula Frege functor Ibid IF-Logic impredicative definitions inference instance interpreted judgements laws Leibniz Lesniewski liar linguistic expressions logically equivalent mathematical means metalanguage natural language negation negative facts negative properties normative object language Ockham paradoxes Paulus Venetus philosophical Popper possible Predicate Logic premisses presupposed proposal propositional logic propositions question Quine relation relevant consequence elements represents a fact Rescher respect rules rules of inference S₁ satisfied says sciences scientific seems semantic sentence is true sentential function sequence statement substitution Tarski's truth condition tences theorems theory of truth things Thomas Aquinas tion Tr(s translation true iff true or false true sentence truth definition truth value understood valid variables verum Weingartner