Correspondence theory of truth

(idea) by jderrida (1.7 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) Mon Jan 28 2002 at 19:23:09

A very complex theory of truth proferred by analytic philosophers as an answer to the questions: "Why are true beliefs true?", and "What makes true beliefs true?".

First proposed by Plato and Aristotle, the correspondence theory of truth stated that: "a sentence p is true if and only if p corresponds to a fact". This definition is unpacked as one explicates the term correspondence and it has always been the claim of detractors of the correspondence theory that the theory is vacuous and, in fact, doesn't explain anything at all.

The correspondenc theory of truth was thought by many, including Bertrand Russell, to be perfected in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by the young Ludwig Wittgenstein where it was stated that a proposition (i.e., a belief, a sentence, or a non-linguistic statement, depending on which philosopher we are dealing with) is true insofar as its logical form mirrors an actual state of affairs in the world. Wittgenstein urged that first we discern the logical form of our propositions. Then, we compare this logical form to an arrangement of objects in the world (such an arrangement might be called a fact). If this state of affairs exists, then the proposition is true.

printable version
chaos

People who argue, using terms they refuse to define	Philosophical theories of truth	Those who are the most intelligent are often the most likely to go insane	truth is subjectivity
Nietzsche on Truth as a Value	Neighborhood of Make-Believe	absolute relativism	I shudder when I think that God is merciful
materialist realism	Feminist theology and metaphysical antirealism	Truth	Realism
Invoke	Liar Paradox	Pragmatism	Bell's Inequality Principle
Tarski's Theory of Truth	practical	Steal Everything (Six by Six)

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