The Role of Truth in Metaphysics
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Chang, Ya-Ting
Abstract
In this article, I argue that, if metaphysics concerns the way things are, the concept of truth plays a significant role in understanding reality. So far as I know, Davidson’s theory of truth provides us a better way to understand the role of truth in metaphysics, compared with other theories. here are three features of Davidson’s theory of truth. In the first place, Davidson’s theory is based on Tarski’s semantic conception of truth, presenting the concept of truth in a formal way. Furthermore, taking truth as a primitive and indefinable concept avoids several predicaments. Most importantly, Davidson successfully correlates language with the external world via the primitive truth concept, which not only exhibits the metaphysical significance but also reflects our intuition of a classic concept of truth. will investigate several influential theories of truth. Chapter One is devoted to Tarski’s semantic conception of truth. Tarski offers two criteria to a satisfactory theory of truth, namely, material adequacy and formal correctness. Many philosophers accept the core of his theory -- the T-schema, which in turn plays a crucial role in Quine’s disquotationalism, Davidson’s primitivism, and Horwich’s minimalism. n Chapter Two, I shall formulate Hartry Field’s criticism to Tarski’s theory of truth and his refinement. He argues that the significance of truth lies in its reflection of the external world. A merely semantic conception is not sufficient for illuminating the concept of truth. The import of physicalism is his prescription to Tarski’s work. intend to compare Quine’s disquotationalism and Horwich’s minimalism in Chapter Three. Both theories hold a deflationary attitude in construing Tarski’s truth definition. But that is a misconception, as I shall argue. Since what we expect is a theory of the concept of truth, rather than a mere investigation into the truth predicate. n the final chapter I will present Davidson’s theory of truth. Davidson proposes that in terms of constructing a theory of truth, we can construct a metaphysics to understand the external world. The programme begins with successful communication, followed by the idea that via the concept of truth we can interpret the external world and thus understand it. I argue that Davidson’s approach is the most satisfactory theory of truth so far as it presents.
Subjects
truth
the T-schema
metaphysics
Davidson
Tarski
Field
primitive
disquotation
interpretation
deflationism
reality
Type
thesis
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ntu-98-R96124004-1.pdf
Size
23.53 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):d1c5ff185fba97fb5f7b0f9ab2fe1e03