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True: Property of
statements and of ideas: A statement is
true iff what
the statement means
represents a
fact. A statement attributing a property or
relation to some things is true if the things have the property or stand in the relation.
Similarly, an idea is true iff a statement of which the
meaning is the idea
represents a
fact. This
definition is much like
Aristotle's definition, except that it is somewhat more explicit about
the involvement of meaning. And indeed, one cannot say of a statement
that one does not understand the meaning of whether it is true or
whether it is not true. Also, it is intuitively
obvious that one understands the meanings of many statements that one
does not know are true or false, often for
very good reasons: One does not have the necessary
evidence or
knowledge to confidently assert the one
or the other.
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See also: Evidence,
False, Logic,
Methodology, Philosophy of Science,
Proposition, Proof,
Science, Statement,
Truth,
Valid
Literature:
Armour, Stegmüller, Tarski
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