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Single Idea 13941

[filed under theme 3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 5. Truth Bearers ]

Full Idea

What is it that is susceptible of truth or falsity? The answers suggested constitute a bewildering variety: sentences, utterances, ideas, beliefs, judgments, propositions, statements.

Gist of Idea

Are the truth-bearers sentences, utterances, ideas, beliefs, judgements, propositions or statements?

Source

Richard Cartwright (Propositions [1962], 01)

Book Ref

Cartwright,Richard: 'Philosophical Essays' [MIT 1987], p.33


A Reaction

Carwright's answer is 'statements', which seem to be the same as propositions.


The 25 ideas with the same theme [sorts of items capable of truth and falsehood]:

The truth bearers are said to be the signified, or the signifier, or the meaning of the signifier [Stoic school, by Sext.Empiricus]
It is only when we say a proposition that we speak truly or falsely [Sext.Empiricus]
It is propositions which are true or false, though it is sometimes said of ideas [Locke]
If they refer to real substances, 'man' is a true idea and 'centaur' a false one [Locke]
Truth only belongs to mental or verbal propositions [Locke]
Truth is a characteristic of possible thoughts [Leibniz]
True and false seem to pertain to thoughts, yet unthought propositions seem to be true or false [Leibniz]
In Hegel's logic it is concepts (rather than judgements or propositions) which are true or false [Hegel, by Scruton]
Frege was strongly in favour of taking truth to attach to propositions [Frege, by Dummett]
Truth belongs to beliefs, not to propositions and sentences [Russell]
In its primary and formal sense, 'true' applies to propositions, not beliefs [Russell]
What is true or false is not mental, and is best called 'propositions' [Russell]
Truth and falsehood are properties of beliefs and statements [Russell]
Truth is irrelevant if no statements are involved [Goodman]
Must sentences make statements to qualify for truth? [O'Connor]
Davidson takes truth to attach to individual sentences [Davidson, by Dummett]
Logicians take sentences to be truth-bearers for rigour, rather than for philosophical reasons [Cartwright,R]
Are the truth-bearers sentences, utterances, ideas, beliefs, judgements, propositions or statements? [Cartwright,R]
To be true a sentence must express a proposition, and not be ambiguous or vague or just expressive [Lewis]
Psychology has to include the idea that mental processes are typically truth-preserving [Fodor]
There are at least fourteen candidates for truth-bearers [Kirkham]
A statement S is 'partly true' if it has some wholly true parts [Yablo]
Truth and falsity apply to suppositions as well as to assertions [Williamson]
Are truth-bearers propositions, or ideas/beliefs, or sentences/utterances? [Engel]
Propositions have sentence-like structures, so it matters little which bears the truth [Horsten]