Synopses & Reviews
This volume is designed to set out some of the central issues in the theory of truth. It draws together, for the first time, the debates between philosophers who favor 'robust' or 'substantive' theories of truth, and those other, 'deflationist' or minimalists, who deny that such theories can be given. The editors provide a substantial introduction, in which they look at how the debates relate to further issues, such as the Liar paradox and formal truth theories.
About the Author
Simon Blackburn is Edna S. Koury Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His publications include
Spreading the Word (OUP, 1984),
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (OUP, 1994), and
Ruling Passions (OUP, 1998).
Keith Simmons is Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author of Universality and the Liar: An Essay on Truth and the Diagonal Argument (CUP, 1993).
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: BACKGROUND `ROBUST' THEORIES
1. On Truth and Copying, F. H. Bradley
2. The Nature of Truth, H. H. Joachim
3. Pragmatism's Conception of Truth, William James
4. William James's Conception of Truth, Bertrand Russell
PART II: EARLY MINIMALIST THEORIES
5. The Thought: A Logical Enquiry, Gottlob Frege
6. On Facts and Propositions, F. P. Ramsey
7. Philosophical Extracts, Ludwig Wittgenstein
8. The Semantic Conception of Truth, Alfred Tarski
9. Philosophy of Logic, W. V. Quine
PART III: THE EARLY MODERN DEBATE
10. Truth, J. L. Austin
11. Truth, P. F. Strawson
12. Unfair to Facts, J. L. Austin
PART IV: MODERN MINIMALISM AND DOUBTS ABOUT IT
13. Truth: A Traditional Debate Reviewed, Crispin Wright
14. The Minimalist Conception of Truth, Paul Horwich
15. Of What Kind of Thing is Truth a Property?, Michael Dummett
16. A Critique of Deflationism, Anil Gupta
17. The Folly of Trying to Define Truth, Donald Davidson
18. Pragmatism, Davidson, and Truth, Richard Rorty
19. Deflationist Views of Meaning and Content, Hartry Field
Notes on the Contributors; Select Bibliography; Index