Single Idea 10017

[catalogued under 3. Truth / F. Semantic Truth / 2. Semantic Truth]

Full Idea

Truth in a model is interesting because it provides a transparent and mathematically tractable model - in the 'ordinary' rather than formal sense of the term 'model' - of the less tractable notion of truth.

Gist of Idea

Truth in a model is more tractable than the general notion of truth

Source

Harold Hodes (Logicism and Ontological Commits. of Arithmetic [1984], p.131)

Book Reference

-: 'Journal of Philosophy' [-], p.131


A Reaction

This is an important warning to those who wish to build their entire account of truth on Tarski's rigorously formal account of the term. Personally I think we should start by deciding whether 'true' can refer to the mental state of a dog. I say it can.

Related Ideas

Idea 10170 While true-in-a-model seems relative, true-in-all-models seems not to be [Reck/Price]

Idea 13634 Satisfaction is 'truth in a model', which is a model of 'truth' [Shapiro]