Topics in Philosophy of Language: Truth
Course Description
This course will treat a few topics broached in the vast literature on truth. After a very brief overview of metaphysical theories about truth (correspondence theory, etc.) we will look at the formal work of Tarski and Kripke and discuss its importance. Afterwards, we will overview classic work on deflationism, gradually segueing into debates (often between deflationists and inflationists) about the role of truth in theories of rationality, meaning, assertion, and inference. We'll conclude by discussing whether and how we can make sense of truth-value gaps, relative truths, and normative truths.
Syllabus
Required Readings
- "Semantic Conception of Truth", Tarski
- "Outline of a Theory of Truth", Kripke
- Understanding Truth, (Ch.3), Soames
- "Deflationist Views of Meaning and Content", Field
- Truth (chs.1&2), Horwich
- "A Critique of Deflationism" (with Postscript), Gupta
- "Challenges to Deflationary Theories of Truth", Armour-Garb
- A Study of Truth and Metarepresentation (ch.2), Shaw
- "The Aim of Belief", Wedgwood
- "Does Thought Imply Ought?", Bykvist & Hattiangati
- "Doxastic Deliberation", Shah & Velleman
- "The Use of Force Against Deflationism: Assertion and Truth", Bar-On & Simmons
- "Deflationism, Meaning, and Truth-conditions" Bar-On et al.
- "Mainstream Semantics and Deflationary Truth", Burgess
- "Why is a Valid Inference a Good Inference?", Dorgramaci
- "What is a Truth-Value Gap?", Shaw
- "Truthmaking, Metaethics, and Creeping Minimalism", Asay
- "How to be an Expressivist about Truth", Schroeder
- "Relativity and Polyadicity", Spencer
Background/Optional Readings
If you read only one of these, it should be Dummett's paper.
- Conceptions of Truth, (Ch.4.1), Künne
- "Tarski's Theory of Truth", Field
- Understanding Truth, (Ch.4), Soames
- "Tarski, Truth, and Semantics", Heck
- "Kripke and the Logic of Truth", Kremer
- Postscript to Field's "Deflationist Views...", Field
- "Deflationism" (Handbook), Bar-On & Simmons
- "How Truth Governs Belief", Shah
- "Truth", Dummett
- "Knowing and Asserting", Williamson
- A Study of Truth and Metarepresentation (ch.7), Shaw [probably only 7.1 will be helpful]
- "Against Truth-Value Gaps", Glanzberg
- "The Moral Truth", Schroeder
- Assessment Sensitivity, MacFarlane
- "Truth, the Liar, and Relativism", Scharp
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