Truth - Couverture souple

Horwich, Paul

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0631173161 ISBN 13 : 9780631173168

Editeur : Blackwell Publishers, 1990

Synopsis

The notion of truth and falsity has long been central to analytic philosophy. Paul Horwich's book is an attempt to show that nothing could be more mundane, and less puzzling, than the concept of truth. Horwich proceeds from the assumption that the "redundancy" theory of truth, despite distinguished support from Frege, Wittgenstein, Ramsey, Ayer, Strawson and Quine, has never received coherent and full support. Showing that "minimalism" is the clearest formulation for the redundancy theory, he analyzes the familiar objects and indicates the major philosophical implications for it. This book is aimed at helping the deflationary view of truth gain the acceptance and provides a careful analysis of the philosophical debates around a canonically "philosophical" question.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

What is truth? Paul Horwich gives the definitive exposition of a notable philosophical theory, `minimalism'. This is the controversial theory that the nature of truth is entirely captured in the trivial fact that each proposition specifies its own condition for being true, and that truth is therefore, despite the philosophical struggles to which it has given rise, an entirely mundane and unpuzzling concept. Horwich makes a powerful case for the minimalist view, and gives a careful systematic explanation of its implications for a cluster of important philosophical issues on which questions about truth have impinged. The first edition of Truth, published in 1990, established itself both as the best account of minimalism and as an excellent introduction to the debate for students. For this new edition Paul Horwich has refined and developed his treatment of the subject in the light of subsequent discussions, while preserving the distinctive format which made the book so successful. It appears simultaneously with his new book Meaning, a companion work which sets out the broader philosophical context for the theory of truth: an account of meaning which seeks to accommodate the diversity of valuable insights that have been gained in the twentieth century within a common-sense view of meaning as deriving from use. The two books together present a compelling view of the relations between language, thought, and reality. Horwich's demystification of meaning and truth will be essential reading for all philosophers of language. Praise for the first edition: 'subtle, penetrating and ingenious . . . everyone interested in philosophy is in his debt' Michael Dummett, University of Oxford 'lucid and compact . . . a forthright presentation of an interesting thesis' Donald Davidson, University of California, Berkeley 'This is an excellent book and deserves to be widely read and used as a text. It states its thesis clearly and argues for it briskly: a style that seems well calculated to start discussions . . . It seems like an admirable starting-point for several weeks' worth of discussions in a philosophy of language course at upper-division undergraduate level.' Australasian Journal of Philosophy 'clearly written and well-structured' British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 'clear, informed and provocative ... I thoroughly recommend the book to everyone in the philosophy of language, philosophy of science, and metaphysics' Michael Devitt, Mind and Language

Revue de presse

This is an important book: It is the most sustained defense of a minimalist conception of truth in print. It systematically deals with all of the usual objections to minimalist views of truth (redundancy theories and their ilk), in most cases providing devastating replies to them; and it contains interesting things to say about many issues that are or have been thought to be connected to the topic of truth. Its arguments are lucid and of high quality, and it is broad in scope. I recommend it with enthusiasm. (Hartry Field, Philosophy of Science)

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Blackwell Publishers
• Date d'édition: 1990
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0631173161
• ISBN 13: 9780631173168
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 128
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible