reason
New member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2007
- Messages
- 1,209
- MBTI Type
- ESFJ
(1) If P is a proposition. then P is either true or false, but not both and not neither.
(2) If proposition P corresponds to the facts, then P is true, and if proposition P does not correspond to the facts, then P is false.
(3) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, P is not identical to the facts. The correspondence is analogous to that between a building and its blueprint i.e. the blueprint describes the building, but is not identical to the building.
(4) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, P does not need to correspond to every fact. In other words, it is not necessary for a true proposition to describe every detail for it to correspond to the facts. For example, tautologies are always true precisely because they do not describe any details, such as the statement "the earth orbits the sun or the earth does not orbit the sun".
(5) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, this does not mean that P corresponds to the evidence. The evidence of our senses or intellect may not correspond to the facts i.e. evidence can be false, whereas the facts cannot be false.
(6) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. Whether or not we can establish that P corresponds to the facts, or justify the belief that P is true, is irrelevent to whether P is true or false.
(7) There are some statements which are true relative to a reference point, and false for another. For example, the statement "I like pepperoni pizza" is true, at least relative to me, but may be false for another.
(8) Every instance of such a "relative truth" i.e. a statement whose truth is contingent on a particular point of reference, can be transformed into a nonrelative truth by substituting a name for the variable, which in this case is "I". The new proposition, "nocturne likes pepperoni pizza", is now either true for everyone or false for everyone, either corresponding to the facts or not corresponding to the facts.
[Edit: If you are interested in making useful distinctions, then (8) suggests a good method of distinguishing a proposition from other kinds of statement. In short, a proposition is always rendered in a nonrelative form i.e. the truth of a proposition is never contingent on a particular point of reference.]
I might add more later...
(2) If proposition P corresponds to the facts, then P is true, and if proposition P does not correspond to the facts, then P is false.
(3) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, P is not identical to the facts. The correspondence is analogous to that between a building and its blueprint i.e. the blueprint describes the building, but is not identical to the building.
(4) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, P does not need to correspond to every fact. In other words, it is not necessary for a true proposition to describe every detail for it to correspond to the facts. For example, tautologies are always true precisely because they do not describe any details, such as the statement "the earth orbits the sun or the earth does not orbit the sun".
(5) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. However, this does not mean that P corresponds to the evidence. The evidence of our senses or intellect may not correspond to the facts i.e. evidence can be false, whereas the facts cannot be false.
(6) If P is true, then P corresponds to the facts. Whether or not we can establish that P corresponds to the facts, or justify the belief that P is true, is irrelevent to whether P is true or false.
(7) There are some statements which are true relative to a reference point, and false for another. For example, the statement "I like pepperoni pizza" is true, at least relative to me, but may be false for another.
(8) Every instance of such a "relative truth" i.e. a statement whose truth is contingent on a particular point of reference, can be transformed into a nonrelative truth by substituting a name for the variable, which in this case is "I". The new proposition, "nocturne likes pepperoni pizza", is now either true for everyone or false for everyone, either corresponding to the facts or not corresponding to the facts.
[Edit: If you are interested in making useful distinctions, then (8) suggests a good method of distinguishing a proposition from other kinds of statement. In short, a proposition is always rendered in a nonrelative form i.e. the truth of a proposition is never contingent on a particular point of reference.]
I might add more later...