Truth in Meaning

Dorit Bar-On (University of Connecticut, University Of Connecticut, Storrs, University of Connecticut)

We are pleased to announce the next VICTR talk for this semester, which is from Dorit Bar-On (UConn), entitled 'Truth in Meaning'.    The session will be on Wednesday Oct 25, 10:30am Eastern / 14:30 UTC / 15:30 BST / 1:30am (on Thu 26) AEDT  

Abstract:
With the so-called linguistic turn in philosophy, it has become standard to try to “save the differences” amongst different types of discourses (e.g. ethical, mathematical, epistemological) by positing semantic differences – differences in kinds of meaning, or else in kinds of truth. Such semantic strategies face a dual challenge. If the semantic differences are too deep, it becomes difficult to account for palpable logico-semantic continuities across discourses, as well as the meaning/truth of ‘mixed’ sentences or arguments. If one addresses this challenge by positing a new type of uniform meaning or truth that all sentences possess, then one must face anew the challenge of saving the differences. Using first-person discourse as a case study, I argue that we should resist trying to capture differences across discourses by resorting to pluralism about meaning or truth. We should capture logico-semantic continuities by assigning indicative sentences from all discourses truth-conditions as their meanings. I offer a particular construal of the appropriate notion of truth-conditions and explain how it leaves room for saving the differences not semantically but rather in other (e.g. metaphysical, epistemological) terms.

You can register for this talk by following this link, and after registration you will receive the meeting information: https://utica-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkce2oqDIoHtNY3TdmjEe6Qe91u2UP_EtL

The Virtual International Consortium for Truth Research (VICTR) is sponsored by the Future of Truth project at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute, the University of Waikato, Fairmont State University, the University of Alabama, and the Applied Ethics Institute at Utica University.