This volume is designed to set out some of the central issues in the theory of truth. It draws together, for the first time, the debates between philosophers who favor ‘robust’ or ‘substantive’ theories of truth, and those other, ‘deflationist’ or minimalists, who deny that such theories can be given. The editors provide a substantial introduction, in which they look at how the debates relate to further issues, such as the Liar paradox and formal truth theories. This volume contains classic readings by authors such as William James, Bertrand Russell, Gottlob Frege, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alfred Tarski, Quine, Peter Strawson, J.L. Austin, Paul Horwich, Michael Dummett, Donald Davidson, Anil Gupta and Richard Rorty to name a few. I think it is fair to say that most, if not all significant theories of truth advanced in the 20th century are covered in this volume. ~ Product Description

Table of Contents

• • Introduction
• PART I: BACKGROUND ‘ROBUST’ THEORIES
  • 1. On Truth and Copying, F. H. Bradley
  • 2. The Nature of Truth, H. H. Joachim
  • 3. Pragmatism’s Conception of Truth, William James
  • 4. William James’s Conception of Truth, Bertrand Russell
• PART II: EARLY MINIMALIST THEORIES
  • 5. The Thought: A Logical Enquiry, Gottlob Frege
  • 6. On Facts and Propositions, F. P. Ramsey
  • 7. Philosophical Extracts, Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • 8. The Semantic Conception of Truth, Alfred Tarski
  • 9. Philosophy of Logic, W. V. Quine
• PART III: THE EARLY MODERN DEBATE
  • 10. Truth, J. L. Austin
  • 11. Truth, P. F. Strawson
  • 12. Unfair to Facts, J. L. Austin
• PART IV: MODERN MINIMALISM AND DOUBTS ABOUT IT
  • 13. Truth: A Traditional Debate Reviewed, Crispin Wright
  • 14. The Minimalist Conception of Truth, Paul Horwich
  • 15. Of What Kind of Thing is Truth a Property?, Michael Dummett
  • 16. A Critique of Deflationism, Anil Gupta
  • 17. The Folly of Trying to Define Truth, Donald Davidson
  • 18. Pragmatism, Davidson, and Truth, Richard Rorty
  • 19. Deflationist Views of Meaning and Content, Hartry Field
  • Notes on the Contributors
  • Select Bibliography
  • Index