more on this theme     |     more from this thinker

Single Idea 21640

[filed under theme 3. Truth / H. Deflationary Truth / 1. Redundant Truth ]

Full Idea

'It's true that Fido is a dog' gives rise to a contrastive focus on 'true', with the contrast class probably depending on members like 'it's false that...' or 'it's unlikely that...'.

Gist of Idea

'It's true that Fido is a dog' conjures up a contrast class, of 'it's false' or 'it's unlikely'

Source

Thomas Hofweber (Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics [2016], 02.6.3)

Book Ref

Hofweber,Thomas: 'Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics' [OUP 2018], p.47

A Reaction

If we introduce (from linguistics) the idea of a 'contrast class', then Ramsey's famous example begins to sound meaningful. It might occur in a discussion of 'did Antony actually say 'Friends, Romans. countrymen'?'

Related Idea

Idea 3750 "It is true that x" means no more than x [Ramsey]

The 30 ideas from 'Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics'

21634 Metaphysics is (supposedly) first the ontology, then in general what things are like [Hofweber]
21635 Without propositions there can be no beliefs or desires [Hofweber]
21636 'Singular terms' are not found in modern linguistics, and are not the same as noun phrases [Hofweber]
21637 If two processes are said to be identical, that doesn't make their terms refer to entities [Hofweber]
21638 Syntactic form concerns the focus of the sentence, as well as the truth-conditions [Hofweber]
21639 'Background deletion' is appropriately omitting background from an answer [Hofweber]
21640 'It's true that Fido is a dog' conjures up a contrast class, of 'it's false' or 'it's unlikely' [Hofweber]
21641 Inferential role semantics is an alternative to semantics that connects to the world [Hofweber]
21643 The inferential quantifier focuses on truth; the domain quantifier focuses on reality [Hofweber]
21644 Numbers are used as singular terms, as adjectives, and as symbols [Hofweber]
21645 'Semantic type coercion' is selecting the reading of a word to make the best sense [Hofweber]
21646 The Amazonian Piraha language is said to have no number words [Hofweber]
21647 Logicism makes sense of our ability to know arithmetic just by thought [Hofweber]
21648 Neo-Fregeans are dazzled by a technical result, and ignore practicalities [Hofweber]
21649 How can words be used for counting if they are objects? [Hofweber]
21652 Our perceptual beliefs are about ordinary objects, not about simples arranged chair-wise [Hofweber]
21653 Maybe not even names are referential, but are just by used by speakers to refer [Hofweber]
21654 The "Fido"-Fido theory of meaning says every expression in a language has a referent [Hofweber]
21655 Compositonality is a way to build up the truth-conditions of a sentence [Hofweber]
21656 Proposition have no content, because they are content [Hofweber]
21657 Since properties can have properties, some theorists rank them in 'types' [Hofweber]
21658 Properties can be expressed in a language despite the absence of a single word for them [Hofweber]
21659 'Being taller than this' is a predicate which can express many different properties [Hofweber]
21660 Reality can be seen as the totality of facts, or as the totality of things [Hofweber]
21661 There are probably ineffable facts, systematically hidden from us [Hofweber]
21662 Do there exist thoughts which we are incapable of thinking? [Hofweber]
21663 Counterfactuals are essential for planning, and learning from mistakes [Hofweber]
21664 Supervenience offers little explanation for things which necessarily go together [Hofweber]
21666 'Fundamentality' is either a superficial idea, or much too obscure [Hofweber]
21665 The fundamental theorem of arithmetic is that all numbers are composed uniquely of primes [Hofweber]