Full Idea
You can know the condition for a sentence to be true only when you know what the sentence means.
Gist of Idea
To know the truth-conditions of a sentence, you must already know the meaning
Source
Michael Dummett (Thought and Reality [1997], 3)
Book Reference
Dummett,Michael: 'Thought and Reality (Gifford Lectures)' [OUP 2006], p.32
A Reaction
This makes the truth-conditions theory of meaning circular, and is Dummett's big objection to Davidson's view. The composition of a sentence creates a model of a world. Truth-conditions may only presuppose knowledge of concepts.