Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Ways of Worldmaking', 'Evidence' and 'Letter to Peter Wilhelm Lund'

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2 ideas

3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 5. Truth Bearers
Truth is irrelevant if no statements are involved [Goodman]
     Full Idea: Truth pertains solely to what is said ...For nonverbal versions and even for verbal versions without statements, truth is irrelevant.
     From: Nelson Goodman (Ways of Worldmaking [1978], 1.5)
     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.
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 8. Subjective Truth
I recognise knowledge, but it is the truth by which I can live and die that really matters [Kierkegaard]
     Full Idea: The thing is to find a truth which is true for me - the idea for which I can live and die. I still recognise an imperative of knowledge, but it must be taken up into my life, which I now recognise as the most important thing.
     From: Søren Kierkegaard (Letter to Peter Wilhelm Lund [1835], J-1A)
     A reaction: A quintessentially existential idea. Note that he still considers objective knowledge to be quite important, but how we act and relate to those ideas is what really matters for us human beings. [SY]