more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
Truth pertains solely to what is said ...For nonverbal versions and even for verbal versions without statements, truth is irrelevant.
Gist of Idea
Truth is irrelevant if no statements are involved
Source
Nelson Goodman (Ways of Worldmaking [1978], 1.5)
Book Ref
Goodman,Nelson: 'Ways of Worldmaking' [Hackett 1984], p.19
A Reaction
Goodman is a philosopher of language (like Dummett), but I am a philosopher of thought (like Evans). The test, for me, is whether truth is applicable to the thought of non-human animals. I take it to be obvious that it is applicable.
Related Idea
Idea 17651 Without words or other symbols, we have no world [Goodman]
| 17650 | We lack frames of reference to transform physics, biology and psychology into one another [Goodman] |
| 17649 | If the world is one it has many aspects, and if there are many worlds they will collect into one [Goodman] |
| 17651 | Without words or other symbols, we have no world [Goodman] |
| 17654 | A world can be full of variety or not, depending on how we sort it [Goodman] |
| 17653 | Things can only be judged the 'same' by citing some respect of sameness [Goodman] |
| 17655 | Grue and green won't be in the same world, as that would block induction entirely [Goodman] |
| 17656 | Being primitive or prior always depends on a constructional system [Goodman] |
| 17657 | We build our world, and ignore anything that won't fit [Goodman] |
| 17658 | Users of digital thermometers recognise no temperatures in the gaps [Goodman] |
| 17652 | Truth is irrelevant if no statements are involved [Goodman] |
| 17659 | Reality is largely a matter of habit [Goodman] |
| 17660 | Discovery is often just finding a fit, like a jigsaw puzzle [Goodman] |
| 17661 | We don't recognise patterns - we invent them [Goodman] |