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Single Idea 18951

[filed under theme 3. Truth / F. Semantic Truth / 1. Tarski's Truth / a. Tarski's truth definition ]

Full Idea

For a language L there is a predicate 'true-in-L' which one can employ for all scientific purposes in place of intuitive truth, and this predicate admits of a precise definition using only the vocabulary of L itself plus set theory.

Gist of Idea

For scientific purposes there is a precise concept of 'true-in-L', using set theory

Source

Hilary Putnam (Philosophy of Logic [1971], Ch.2)

Book Ref

Putnam,Hilary: 'Philosophy of Logic' [Routledge 1972], p.21

A Reaction

He refers, of course, to Tarski's theory. I'm unclear of the division between 'scientific purposes' and the rest of life (which is why some people embrace 'minimal' theories of ordinary truth). I'm struck by set theory being a necessary feature.

Related Idea

Idea 10353 Tarskians distinguish truth from falsehood by relations between members of sets [Kusch]

The 27 ideas with the same theme [truth defined for formal languages, using 'satisfaction']:

21752 Prior to Gödel we thought truth in mathematics consisted in provability [Gödel, by Quine]
13338 '"It is snowing" is true if and only if it is snowing' is a partial definition of the concept of truth [Tarski]
19180 It is convenient to attach 'true' to sentences, and hence the language must be specified [Tarski]
19181 In the classical concept of truth, 'snow is white' is true if snow is white [Tarski]
19183 Each interpreted T-sentence is a partial definition of truth; the whole definition is their conjunction [Tarski]
19182 Use 'true' so that all T-sentences can be asserted, and the definition will then be 'adequate' [Tarski]
19196 Scheme (T) is not a definition of truth [Tarski]
19198 We don't give conditions for asserting 'snow is white'; just that assertion implies 'snow is white' is true [Tarski]
15339 Tarski gave up on the essence of truth, and asked how truth is used, or how it functions [Tarski, by Horsten]
16302 Tarski did not just aim at a definition; he also offered an adequacy criterion for any truth definition [Tarski, by Halbach]
19135 Tarski enumerates cases of truth, so it can't be applied to new words or languages [Davidson on Tarski]
19138 Tarski define truths by giving the extension of the predicate, rather than the meaning [Davidson on Tarski]
4699 Tarski made truth relative, by only defining truth within some given artificial language [Tarski, by O'Grady]
19324 Tarski has to avoid stating how truths relate to states of affairs [Kirkham on Tarski]
10672 Tarskian semantics says that a sentence is true iff it is satisfied by every sequence [Tarski, by Hossack]
10844 The statement that it is raining perfectly fits the fact that it is raining [Strawson,P]
18951 For scientific purposes there is a precise concept of 'true-in-L', using set theory [Putnam]
2570 The same sentence could be true in one language and meaningless in another, so truth is language-relative [Haack]
13499 Tarski reduced truth to reference or denotation [Field,H, by Hart,WD]
10818 Tarski really explained truth in terms of denoting, predicating and satisfied functions [Field,H]
14965 Truth rests on Elimination ('A' is true → A) and Introduction (A → 'A' is true) [Gupta]
10353 Tarskians distinguish truth from falsehood by relations between members of sets [Kusch]
15340 Tarski Bi-conditional: if you'll assert φ you'll assert φ-is-true - and also vice versa [Horsten]
15354 Tarski's hierarchy lacks uniform truth, and depends on contingent factors [Horsten]
19101 Disquotation is bivalent [Misak]
19096 Disquotationalism resembles a telephone directory [Misak]
19106 Disquotations says truth is assertion, and assertion proclaims truth - but what is 'assertion'? [Misak]