Years ago, I took a single class on epistemology (the study of truth). I remember thinking it was the most important class I took at uni. The lessons have stuck.
This week's post is about the four theories of truth, and how you may use it to think better:
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James' definition (useful <=> true) is a kind of pop-summary of the versions articulated by Peirce + Dewey.
Peirce phrases it as: "Truth is that concordance of an abstract statement with the ideal limit towards which endless investigation would tend to bring scientific belief."
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Oh I agree. I think Pierce's (less familiar with Dewey's additions) ideas are more interesting, because they have to do with the scientific method, and on matters of ethics. But I had no choice but to roll up the entire movement into a bad summary, because the piece was too long!
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But fwiw, Singaporean pragmatism draws on the pop-version (do what is useful or beneficial), and they've actually done incredible things with it. (It remains an unofficial yet core value in the civil service, if not society).