Full Idea
Tarski emancipated truth theory from traditional philosophy, by no longer posing Pilate's question (what is truth? or what is the essence of truth?) but instead 'how is truth used?', 'how does truth function?' and 'how can its functioning be described?'.
Gist of Idea
Tarski gave up on the essence of truth, and asked how truth is used, or how it functions
Source
report of Alfred Tarski (The Concept of Truth for Formalized Languages [1933]) by Leon Horsten - The Tarskian Turn 02.2
Book Reference
Horsten,Leon: 'The Tarskian Turn' [MIT 2011], p.15
A Reaction
Horsten, later in the book, does not give up on the essence of truth, and modern theorists are trying to get back to that question by following Tarski's formal route. Modern analytic philosophy at its best, it seems to me.