Description
Book SynopsisWhat 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 app
Trade ReviewThis 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 *
Table of Contents1. The Minimal Theory ; 2. The Proper Formulation ; 3. The Explanatory Role of the Concept of Truth ; 4. Methodology and Scientific Realism ; 5. Meaning and Logic ; 6. Propositions and Utterances ; 7. The 'Correspondence' Intuition ; Conclusion; Postscript; Bibliography; Index
