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Single Idea 6337

[from 'Truth (2nd edn)' by Paul Horwich, in 3. Truth / H. Deflationary Truth / 2. Deflationary Truth ]

Full Idea

According to the deflationary picture, believing that a theory is true is a trivial step beyond believing the theory.

Gist of Idea

The deflationary picture says believing a theory true is a trivial step after believing the theory

Source

Paul Horwich (Truth (2nd edn) [1990], Ch.2.17)

Book Reference

Horwich,Paul: 'Truth (2nd edn)' [OUP 1998], p.57


A Reaction

What has gone wrong with this picture is that you cannot (it seems to me) give a decent account of belief without mentioning truth. To believe a proposition is to hold it true. Hume's emotional account (Idea 2208) makes belief bewildering.

Related Idea

Idea 2208 Belief is just a particular feeling attached to ideas of objects [Hume]