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Single Idea 18481

[filed under theme 3. Truth / B. Truthmakers / 3. Truthmaker Maximalism ]

Full Idea

If maximalism is intellectual heir to Russell's logical atomism, then 'optimalism' (the denial that universal and negative statements need truth-makers) is heir to Wittgenstein's version, where only atomic propositions represent states of affairs.

Gist of Idea

Maximalism follows Russell, and optimalism (no negative or universal truthmakers) follows Wittgenstein

Source

Fraser MacBride (Truthmakers [2013], 2.2)

Book Ref

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.17

A Reaction

Wittgenstein's idea is that you can use the logical connectives to construct all the other universal and negative facts. 'Optimalism' restricts truthmaking to atomic statements.

Related Ideas

Idea 18475 Russell allows some complex facts, but Wittgenstein only allows atomic facts [MacBride]

Idea 18473 'Maximalism' says every truth has an actual truthmaker [MacBride]

The 9 ideas with the same theme [there cannot be a truth which doesn't have a truthmaker]:

17282 Truths need not always have their source in what exists [Fine,K]
18509 Not all truths need truthmakers - mathematics and logic seem to be just true [Heil]
18473 'Maximalism' says every truth has an actual truthmaker [MacBride]
18481 Maximalism follows Russell, and optimalism (no negative or universal truthmakers) follows Wittgenstein [MacBride]
18868 Surely if some propositions are grounded in existence, they all are? [Cameron]
18928 If maximalism is necessary, then that nothing exists has a truthmaker, which it can't have [Cameron]
17962 The truth-maker principle is that every truth has a sufficient truth-maker [Forrest]
18333 Central idea: truths need truthmakers; and possibly all truths have them, and makers entail truths [Rami]
18866 Maybe only 'positive' truths need truth-makers [Tallant]