Aristotle's conception of truth: an alternative view

B Hestir - Journal of the History of Philosophy, 2013 - muse.jhu.edu
B Hestir
Journal of the History of Philosophy, 2013muse.jhu.edu
The prevailing view among scholars is that Aristotle's remarks on truth at Metaphysics Γ. 7,
1011b26–27 express a correspondence conception of truth. However, although Aristotle
thinks that truth depends on the world, his conception of truth does not require that either (a)
there be some truthmaker such as a fact or a state of affairs that obtains to which
truthbearers correspond, or (b) there be a some universal dependence relation that holds
between truths and ontological entities. Aristotle's conception of truth is more minimal. I focus …
Abstract
The prevailing view among scholars is that Aristotle’s remarks on truth at Metaphysics Γ. 7, 1011b26–27 express a correspondence conception of truth. However, although Aristotle thinks that truth depends on the world, his conception of truth does not require that either (a) there be some truthmaker such as a fact or a state of affairs that obtains to which truthbearers correspond, or (b) there be a some universal dependence relation that holds between truths and ontological entities. Aristotle’s conception of truth is more minimal. I focus on Aristotle’s semantic views and their relation to his ontology and psychology.
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