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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Fair enough. Just read this book, BTW, you might enjoy:
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And because my idea of friendliness is to exchange book recommendations, here’s one I’ve been eyeing:
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Thanks!
It's a quick, enjoyable read, and Menard tells a compelling "historical tale", but he bungles the philosophy. James lists common misinterpretations in "The Pragmatist Account of Truth and its Misunderstanders" and Menard runs afoul of most of them—almost verbatim!
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