Britney Cain

Phil 425

Dr. Beisecker

“The Semantic Conception of Truth” Notes

  • How best to characterize semantics? What would a theory of semantics be?
  • The study of meaning (sentence or word)
  • The notion of truth is central to the theory of semantics
  • Syntax: the study of grammar (how to compose sensible sentences)
  • One may form a semantic sentence by joining a subject and a predicate
  • Semantics Theory about meaning (or senses) of the sentences allowable by the grammar of a language
  • Validity: Conclusions must be true if premises are true
  • Truth is front and center in the semantic project of philosophy
  • Especially if you are interested in principles of reasoning (valid reasoning from invalid reasoning, you might think that your semantic theory simply HAS to incorporate the notion of truth and falsity.
  • Semantic theory implies that you want to know if sentences are true or false and what consequences follow.
  • Ex. (S v P)¹ is true when S or P² (is true).
  • Ex. (S & P) is true when S and P (are true). Semantics in Natural Language
  • Ex. ‘Fₐ’ is true when a is an F.
  • The object language¹ (language you are talking about) is different than the meta language² you speak about the object language in.
  • Ex. ‘Snow is white’ (English) is true j.i.c. snow is white.
  • (ᵿᴾ) [‘P’ is true j.i.c. P] -> Convention T
  • Tarski’s #1 Truth Rule: Any sentence of a schema will have to be a consequence of whatever truth theory you develop for natural language.
  • Convention T is a consequence and is HARDLY innocuous.
  • Semantics for English in English: ‘S’ is true j.i.c. S.
  • ‘S’: Talking about its own truth/falsity.
  • Application of Convention T
  • ‘S’ is true j.i.c. the sentence in the box is not true.
  • ‘S’ = The sentence in the box.
  • The sentence in the box is true j.i.c. the sentence in the box is not true. <- Liar Paradox
  • You cannot give formal semantics of natural language in Convention T if you’re given the ability to talk about natural language (i.e. your own sentences’ truth or falsity and negation) because it’s bound to generate contradictions.
  • The theory of semantics is made to generate truth but generates contradictions so it doesn’t work. You must have different object and meta languages so the object language isn’t talking about its own truth or falsity.
  • No language has the expressive resources to a) construct its own truth predicate and b) talk about the truth or falsity of all sentences in that language.
  • The problem is that you must contradict in order to understand every natural language.
  • There is a need to eliminate self reference in order to accomplish truth.
  • Ex.
  • (S): The sentence in the box is not true.
  • ‘S’ is true j.i.c. the sentence in the box is not true.