coherence theory of truth
- coherence theory of truth
The view that the truth of a proposition consists in its being a member of some suitably defined body of other propositions: a body that is consistent, coherent, and possibly endowed with other virtues, provided these are not defined in terms of truth. The theory, though surprising at first sight, has two strengths: (i) we test beliefs for truth in the light of other beliefs (including perceptual beliefs); (ii) we cannot step outside our own best system of belief, to see how well it is doing in terms of correspondence with the world. To many thinkers the weak point of pure coherence theories is that they fail to include a proper sense of the way in which actual systems of belief are sustained by persons with perceptual experience, impinged upon by their environment. For a pure coherence theorist, experience is only relevant as the source of perceptual beliefs, which take their place as part of the coherent or incoherent set. This seems not to do justice to our sense that experience plays a special role in controlling our systems of belief, but coherentists have contested the claim in various ways. See also
correspondence theory of truth.
Philosophy dictionary.
Academic.
2011.
Look at other dictionaries:
Coherence theory of truth — regards truth as coherence with some specified set of sentences, propositions or beliefs. There is no single coherence theory of truth, but rather an assortment of perspectives that are commonly collected under this title.[citation needed] A… … Wikipedia
COHERENCE THEORY OF TRUTH — the theory that TRUTH consists in coherence to a SYSTEM of IDEAS as opposed to a relationship with EMPIRICAL REALITY. See CORRESPONDENCE THEORY OF TRUTH … Concise dictionary of Religion
Coherence theory — In physics, coherence theory is the study of optical effects arising from partially coherent light and radio sources. Partially coherent sources are sources where the coherence time or coherence length are limited by bandwidth, by thermal noise,… … Wikipedia
Correspondence theory of truth — Truth, holding a mirror and a serpent (1896). Olin Levi Warner, Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. The correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it… … Wikipedia
Pragmatic theory of truth — refers to those accounts, definitions, and theories of the concept truth that distinguish the philosophies of pragmatism and pragmaticism. The conception of truth in question varies along lines that reflect the influence of several thinkers,… … Wikipedia
correspondence theory of truth — Aristotle said that a statement is true if it says of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not (Metaphysics Γ, iv. 1011). But a correspondence theory is not simply the view that truth consists in correspondence with the facts, but… … Philosophy dictionary
CORRESPONDENCE THEORY OF TRUTH — is the view that truth consists in its correspondence to REALITY and not in ABSTRACT IDEAS. See the COHERENCE THEORY OF TRUTH … Concise dictionary of Religion
coherence theory — noun : the theory that the ultimate criterion of truth is the coherence of all its separate parts with one another and with experience contrasted with correspondence theory * * * Philos. the theory of truth that every true statement, insofar as… … Useful english dictionary
coherence theory — Philos. the theory of truth that every true statement, insofar as it is true, describes its subject in the totality of its relationship with all other things. Cf. correspondence theory, pragmatic theory. [1905 10] * * * … Universalium
Deflationary theory of truth — A deflationary theory of truth is one of a family of theories which all have in common the claim that assertions that predicate truth of a statement do not attribute a property called truth to such a statement. Contents 1 Redundancy theory 2… … Wikipedia
