09/08/17 Takes in account that it

o
corresponds with a
Wittgenstein fact/event in order for it to
- “The world is made up of facts” be valid
- “Your mind is independent from the o More evidence-based in a
world/reality” sense?
- Facts appear to us in the form of 2. Coherence
STATEMENTS or PROPOSITIONS o Measures coherence and
- Which we make sense of with our consistency among
THOUGHTS or JUDGEMENTS statements within a system
- Which we express through o Statement is true only if it
SENTENCES logically flows with other
beliefs/events à forming a
What is truth? comprehensive
- Simply a property of a statement interpretation of reality

Types of Statements Reading #2:

1. Analytic/Formal Language of Truth
o Subject and predicate are
interchangeable Uses of Language
o E.g.: Squares have 4 equal - Interrogative sentences
sides o To ask questions
o Given, and automatic based - Imperative sentences
on definition o To command or request
o Apriori – truth backed up by - Declarative sentences
a formal subject o To describe things
2. Synthetic/Empirical o Only sentences that can be
o Statements of ordinary TRUE or FALSE
perception o Express the conclusions and
o Subject and predicate are premises of arguments
NOT interchangeable
o What it describes is not a The Objective Theory of Truth (OTT)
necessary feature –– set of principles about truth
o E.g.: The lights inside PH 207 1. Correspondence principle (CP)
are turned on o A true sentence is a sentence
o Aposteriori – need that describes things as they
experience/senses to know if actually are
the statement is true o Corresponds to FACTS
3. Evaluative o Overlooks one detail
o Value judgements Ex.: I fed the dog (said by 2
o Moral, ethical, or aesthetic diff. people)
claims –same sentence BUT
o Controversial truth value describe world differently à
o E.g.: Killing is bad; That diff. STATEMENTS
painting is beautiful –only one speaker can be
right
Theories of Truth –STATEMENT: what you
1. Correspondence assert through your sentence,
o Synthetic/Empirical set of has a truth value
data o Revised CP: A true statement
is a statement that describes
 things as they actually are. It
corresponds to facts.
2. One Truth Value principle (OTV)
o Every statement has exactly
one truth value
o Either true or false, but
NEVER both
o We can’t or don’t know some
truth values of a statement,
but nonetheless, there is NO
MIDDLE GROUND
3. Objective Truth principle
o A statement’s truth value is
an objective property of that
statement.
o Determined by the actual
characteristics of the things
the statement is about.
o Truth value is NOT
determined by what people
think, or how they feel.