Truth as One and Many
What is truth? Michael Lynch defends a bold new answer to this question. Traditional theories of truth hold that truth has only a single uniform nature. All truths are true in the same way. More recent deflationary theories claim that truth has no nature at all; the concept of truth is of no real philosophical importance. In this concise and clearly written book, Lynch argues that we should reject both these extremes and hold that truth is a functional property. To understand truth we must understand what it does, its function in our cognitive economy. Once we understand that, we'll see that this function can be performed in more than one way. And that in turn opens the door to an appealing pluralism: beliefs about the concrete physical world needn't be true in the same way as our thoughts about matters -- like morality -- where the human stain is deepest.
1101081789
Truth as One and Many
What is truth? Michael Lynch defends a bold new answer to this question. Traditional theories of truth hold that truth has only a single uniform nature. All truths are true in the same way. More recent deflationary theories claim that truth has no nature at all; the concept of truth is of no real philosophical importance. In this concise and clearly written book, Lynch argues that we should reject both these extremes and hold that truth is a functional property. To understand truth we must understand what it does, its function in our cognitive economy. Once we understand that, we'll see that this function can be performed in more than one way. And that in turn opens the door to an appealing pluralism: beliefs about the concrete physical world needn't be true in the same way as our thoughts about matters -- like morality -- where the human stain is deepest.
32.49 In Stock
Truth as One and Many

Truth as One and Many

by Michael P. Lynch
Truth as One and Many

Truth as One and Many

by Michael P. Lynch

eBook

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Overview

What is truth? Michael Lynch defends a bold new answer to this question. Traditional theories of truth hold that truth has only a single uniform nature. All truths are true in the same way. More recent deflationary theories claim that truth has no nature at all; the concept of truth is of no real philosophical importance. In this concise and clearly written book, Lynch argues that we should reject both these extremes and hold that truth is a functional property. To understand truth we must understand what it does, its function in our cognitive economy. Once we understand that, we'll see that this function can be performed in more than one way. And that in turn opens the door to an appealing pluralism: beliefs about the concrete physical world needn't be true in the same way as our thoughts about matters -- like morality -- where the human stain is deepest.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780191615764
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication date: 03/31/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 17 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael P. Lynch is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 Truisms 7

2 Truth as One 21

3 Truth as Many 51

4 Truth as One and Many 69

5 Truth, Consequence, and the Universality of Reason 85

6 Deflationism and Explanation 105

7 Expanding the View: Semantic Functionalism 129

8 Applying the View: Moral Truth 159

Conclusion 191

Select Bibliography 193

Index 201

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