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Single Idea 2345
[filed under theme 3. Truth / F. Semantic Truth / 2. Semantic Truth
]
Full Idea
Although no semantic notions are used in Tarski's truth definitions themselves, they are used in deciding when such a definition is correct, namely the notion of translation.
Clarification
Tarski's truth definitions say that truth is just a relationship between parts of our language
Gist of Idea
Semantic notions do not occur in Tarski's definitions, but assessing their correctness involves translation
Source
Hilary Putnam (Representation and Reality [1988], §4 p.66)
Book Ref
Putnam,Hilary: 'Representation and Reality' [MIT 1992], p.66
The
22 ideas
from 'Representation and Reality'
2334
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Meaning holism tried to show that you can't get fixed meanings built out of observation terms
[Putnam]
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2335
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Understanding a sentence involves background knowledge and can't be done in isolation
[Putnam]
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2336
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Holism seems to make fixed definition more or less impossible
[Putnam]
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2338
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Reference (say to 'elms') is a social phenomenon which we can leave to experts
[Putnam]
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2339
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Aristotle implies that we have the complete concepts of a language in our heads, but we don't
[Putnam]
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2343
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Reference may be different while mental representation is the same
[Putnam]
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2340
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We should separate how the reference of 'gold' is fixed from its conceptual content
[Putnam]
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2341
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Like names, natural kind terms have their meaning fixed by extension and reference
[Putnam]
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2342
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"Water" is a natural kind term, but "H2O" is a description
[Putnam]
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2344
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If we are going to eliminate folk psychology, we must also eliminate folk logic
[Putnam]
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2345
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Semantic notions do not occur in Tarski's definitions, but assessing their correctness involves translation
[Putnam]
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2346
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Meaning and translation (which are needed to define truth) both presuppose the notion of reference
[Putnam]
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2347
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Asserting the truth of an indexical statement is not the same as uttering the statement
[Putnam]
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2348
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Is there just one computational state for each specific belief?
[Putnam]
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2349
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Realists believe truth is correspondence, independent of humans, is bivalent, and is unique
[Putnam]
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2351
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Aristotle says an object (e.g. a lamp) has identity if its parts stay together when it is moved
[Putnam]
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2352
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The job of the philosopher is to distinguish facts about the world from conventions
[Putnam]
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2354
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"Meaning is use" is not a definition of meaning
[Putnam]
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2331
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Functionalism says robots and people are the same at one level of abstraction
[Putnam]
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2332
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Functionalism can't explain reference and truth, which are needed for logic
[Putnam]
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2074
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Can we give a scientific, computational account of folk psychology?
[Putnam]
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2071
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If concepts have external meaning, computational states won't explain psychology
[Putnam]
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