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Full Idea
The acceptance of new linguistic forms about entities cannot be judged as being either true or false because it is not an assertion. It can only be judged as being more or less expedient, fruitful, conducive to the aim for which the language is intended.
Gist of Idea
New linguistic claims about entities are not true or false, but just expedient, fruitful or successful
Source
Rudolph Carnap (Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology [1950], 3)
Book Ref
Carnap,Rudolph: 'Meaning and Necessity (2nd ed)' [Chicago 1988], p.214
A Reaction
The obvious problem seems to be that a complete pack of lies might be successful for a very long time, if it plugged a critical hole in a major theory. Is success judged financially? How do we judge success without mentioning truth?
| 1890 | We distinguish ambiguities by seeing what is useful [Sext.Empiricus] |
| 14794 | Instead of seeking Truth, we should seek belief that is beyond doubt [Peirce] |
| 14795 | Pragmatism is a way of establishing meanings, not a theory of metaphysics or a set of truths [Peirce] |
| 18989 | Pragmatism accepts any hypothesis which has useful consequences [James] |
| 6441 | Pragmatism judges by effects, but I judge truth by causes [Russell] |
| 13937 | New linguistic claims about entities are not true or false, but just expedient, fruitful or successful [Carnap] |
| 12625 | Pragmatism is the worst idea ever [Fodor] |
| 4746 | Pragmatism is better understood as a theory of belief than as a theory of truth [Engel] |