THE THEORIES OF TRUTH

Question 1

What is the Correspondence Theory of Truth and what philosophers are associated with this theory?

Answer 1

A belief is true if it corresponds to, or agrees with a reality or fact
-Truth depends on how things are in the world
-Philosophers: Plato and Aristotle

Question 2

What are the criticisms of the Correspondence Theory of Truth?

Answer 2

1. Truth cannot be determined in isolation- we cannot take one isolated truth and apply it to everything
   2.There is never a perfect similarity between truth described and truth experienced (example- describing a beautiful sunset vs actually witnessing one)

Question 3

What is the Coherence Theory of Truth? What are the philosophers associated with this theory?

Answer 3

A belief is true if it coheres with, or is consistent with an existing belief or body of knowledge
-States that the truth of things cannot be determined by the senses
-Emphasises sitting and thinking, not going and looking which the coherence theory of truth supports
Philosophers: Leibniz, Spinoza, and Hegel

Question 4

What are the criticisms of the Coherence Theory of Truth?

Answer 4

1.Coherence can lead to laziness
2. Coherence is not sufficient for truth
3.Coherence cannot exclude crazy beliefs

Question 5

What is the Pragmatic Theory of truth? What are the philosophers associated with this theory?

Answer 5

States that a belief is true if it is useful or works in practice
-States that truth must be judged according to consequences
Philosophers: William James, John Dewey, Charles Pierce

Question 6

What are the criticisms of the pragmatic theory of truth?

Answer 6

1.”useful” and “works in practice” are too vague to give us a workable theory of truth
2.A statement can be useful but not true. Vice versa
3.Implies that two contradictory beliefs could both be true