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Single Idea 4687

[filed under theme 3. Truth / H. Deflationary Truth / 3. Minimalist Truth ]

Full Idea

Minimalist theories of truth are those which involve minimum ontological commitment, avoiding references to 'reality' or 'facts' or 'what works', preferring to refer to formal relationships within language.

Gist of Idea

Minimal theories of truth avoid ontological commitment to such things as 'facts' or 'reality'

Source

PG (Db (ideas) [2031])


A Reaction

Personally I am suspicious of minimal theories, which seem to be designed by and for anti-realists. They seem too focused on language, when animals can obviously formulate correct propositions. I'm quite happy with the 'facts', even if that is vague.


The 7 ideas with the same theme [truth defined formally, without ontology]:

Someone who says 'it is day' proposes it is day, and it is true if it is day [Zeno of Citium, by Diog. Laertius]
Without the disquotation device for truth, you could never form beliefs from others' testimony [McGinn]
Truth is the property of propositions that makes it possible to deduce facts [McGinn]
Minimalism is incoherent, as it implies that truth both is and is not a property [Boghossian, by Horwich]
Maybe there is no more to be said about 'true' than there is about the function of 'and' in logic [Engel]
Instances of minimal truth miss out propositions inexpressible in current English [Hofweber]
Minimal theories of truth avoid ontological commitment to such things as 'facts' or 'reality' [PG]