We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 July 2009
DIFFICULTIES ABOUT STATES OF AFFAIRS IN THE TRACTATUS
The purpose of this chapter is to give an account of the truth of predicative sentences, where a predicative sentence is one that is used to say that a particular has a certain property or that a number of particulars stand in a certain relation to each other. The starting point is the account of elementary sentences given in the Tractatus, which, through discussion and criticism, will be used to form the basis for a general account of the truth of predicative sentences. Despite the fact that a number of the assumptions and doctrines of the Tractatus are unacceptable, such as its form of metaphysical atomism and the isomorphism that it posits between an elementary sentence and an atomic fact, the general way in which it avoids reifying what is said by a sentence is of abiding interest. Not only do its sophistication and thoroughness recommend it as a suitable starting point, the issues raised are by no means irrelevant to contemporary discussions.
As in Russell's version of logical atomism, there is in the Tractatus no formal announcement of what truth consists in, but, as in Russell's work, the notions of truth and falsehood come in all the time. If anything, the Tractatus has more to say about truth and falsehood.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
