Truth: A Contemporary Reader

by Douglas Edwards (Editor)

Overview

For the first time Truth: A Contemporary Reader brings together essays that have shaped two aspects of a fundamental philosophical topic: the nature of truth and the value of truth.

Featuring 22 essays, this up-to-date reader includes seminal work by leading figures in contemporary analytic philosophy. It charts the development of the central 'grand proposals' about the nature of truth, and subsequently how their influence gradually diminished in face of new theories developed in the 20th and 21st-centuries. The reader also demonstrates how truth is often taken to be valuable in various ways, in particular as the norm of correctness for belief and assertion, and the relationship between truth and other epistemic values.

With introductory overviews to each group of related papers complemented by guides to further reading, this reader introduces the central debates, familiarizes students with the most important work in the field and covers pivotal theories of truth including:

- correspondence theories
- coherentism, pragmatism, verificationism
- deflationary, primitivist, and pluralist theories

Moreover, by showing how thoughts about truth and value bear heavily on one another, Truth: A Contemporary Reader provides new opportunities for understanding and advancing the link between these central topics. This is an essential collection for anyone studying or working in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of language today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474213318
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	09/05/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Douglas Edwards is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Utica College, USA. He is the author of The Metaphysics of Truth (2018), and Properties (2014).
Douglas Edwards works primarily on issues in metaphysics and thephilosophy of language, with particular focus on truth. He has published numerous articles on truth in leading philosophy journals, including Analysis, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, The Journal of Philosophy, and Synthese. He is the author of The Metaphysics of Truth, (Oxford University Press, 2018), and Properties (Polity Press, 2014). He received his PhD from the University of St Andrews, and has since held positions at University College Dublin, the University of Aberdeen, Hamilton College, and Utica College, where he currently works.

Table of Contents

General Introduction, Douglas Edwards

Part 1. Correspondence Theories of Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

1. Bertrand Russell, 'Truth and Falsehood'
2. Marian David, 'Truth-Making and Correspondence'
3. Hartry Field, 'Tarski's Theory of Truth'
4. Dorothy Grover, 'Truth and Language – World Connections'

Part 2. Epistemic Theories of Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

5. F.H. Bradley, 'On Truth and Copying'
6. Paul Thagard, 'Coherence, Truth, and the Development of Scientific Knowledge'
7. Charles S. Peirce, 'How to Make Our Ideas Clear'
8. William James, 'Pragmatism's Conception of Truth'
9. Cheryl Misak, 'Pragmatism on Solidarity, Bullshit, and Other Deformities of Truth'

Part 3. Deflationism About Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

10. Paul Horwich, 'A Defense of Minimalism'
11. Hartry Field, 'Deflationist Views of Meaning and Content'
12. Dorothy Grover, 'On Two Deflationary Truth Theories'
13. Matti Eklund, 'What is Deflationism about Truth?'

Part 4. Primitivist Theories of Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

14. Donald Davidson, 'The Folly of Trying to Define Truth'
15. Trenton Merricks, 'Truth as a Primitive'

Part 5. Pluralist Theories of Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

16. Crispin Wright, 'Truth: A Traditional Debate Reviewed'
17. Douglas Edwards, 'Simplifying Alethic Pluralism'
18. Gila Sher, 'In Search of a Substantive Theory of Truth'

Part 6. The Value and Normativity of Truth

Editor's Introduction, Douglas Edwards

19. Linda Zagzebski, 'Intellectual Motivation and the Good of Truth'
20. Michael P. Lynch, 'Minimalism and the Value of Truth'
21. Huw Price, 'Truth as Convenient Friction'
22. Catherine Z. Elgin, 'True Enough'

Index

Editorial Reviews

This collection is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to familiar with the ongoing philosophical debates about truth. Edwards's section introductions are helpful and clear. The articles collected here illustrate the most important moves in thinking about truth and its value over the past couple of centuries.” —Chase B. Wrenn, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama, USA

“The philosophy of truth has become a very complex field of inquiry, especially at a time when disrespect for truth is common. This well-devised anthology brings together both classical sources and more recent work. It gives an excellent image of the present debates, and guidelines to further inquiry.” —Pascal Engel, Director of Studies, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris, France

“This great anthology will familiarize readers with core areas and questions in the study of the nature of truth. The general introduction and six more focused introductions by Prof. Edwards will be of incredible value to readers, as they will help them understand the included works and appreciate the richness of the truth debate.” —Nikolaj Jang Lee Linding Pedersen, Associate Professor of Philosophy & founding director, Veritas Research Center, Underwood International College, Yonsei University, South Korea

From the Publisher