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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

178120

The myth of the coherence theory of truth

Nic Damnjanovic Stewart Candlish

pp. 157-182

Abstract

Although its use is not universal, there is a map of the logical space of theories of truth that is widely applied. According to this map, the most foundational divide amongst theories of truth is that between deflationary and inflationary theories, where, roughly, the former hold that truth is an insubstantial, logical property of little philosophical interest and the latter that it is a substantial property suitable for philosophical attention. Amongst the inflationary theories, there are other fundamental divisions. For example, on the one hand, correspondence theorists hold that the truth of a proposition is a matter of the proposition's standing in a relation to something else which is not a proposition, such as a fact. On the other hand, coherence theorists hold that the truth of a proposition is a matter of its relations to other propositions. And again, pragmatists hold that the truth of a proposition is a matter of its being useful to believe.

Publication details

Published in:

Textor Mark (2013) Judgement and truth in early analytic philosophy and phenomenology. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 157-182

DOI: 10.1057/9781137286338_8

Full citation:

Damnjanovic Nic, Candlish Stewart (2013) „The myth of the coherence theory of truth“, In: M. Textor (ed.), Judgement and truth in early analytic philosophy and phenomenology, Dordrecht, Springer, 157–182.