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Full Idea
We might explain the closeness to the truth (or 'verisimilitude') in terms of closeness of possible worlds. A theory is close to the truth to the extent that our world resembles some world where that theory is exactly true.
Gist of Idea
Verisimilitude might be explained as being close to the possible world where the truth is exact
Source
David Lewis (On the Plurality of Worlds [1986], 1.3)
Book Ref
Lewis,David: 'On the Plurality of Worlds' [Blackwell 2001], p.24
A Reaction
[Lewis cites Risto Hilpinen for this thought] I am always puzzled why Lewis and co. talk of whole worlds in their accounts. If I am close to the truth about cooking a good omelette, what has the rest of the world got to do with it?
| 575 | If one error is worse than another, it must be because it is further from the truth [Aristotle] |
| 19247 | The one unpardonable offence in reasoning is to block the route to further truth [Peirce] |
| 22317 | Truth does not admit of more and less [Frege] |
| 3861 | Theories generate infinite truths and falsehoods, so they cannot be used to assess probability [Newton-Smith] |
| 3869 | More truthful theories have greater predictive power [Newton-Smith] |
| 15557 | Verisimilitude has proved hard to analyse, and seems to have several components [Lewis] |
| 9651 | Verisimilitude might be explained as being close to the possible world where the truth is exact [Lewis] |
| 17602 | Verisimilitude comes from including more phenomena, and revealing what underlies [Thagard] |