The concepts of meaning and truth are related in various ways. Among all these, the position that... more The concepts of meaning and truth are related in various ways. Among all these, the position that truth can take in a meaning theory is especially of concern, for the shape of a meaning theory carries important implications on the nature of truth. Deflationism, the recently popular view that takes truth to be insubstantial, is accused by Davidson for its explanatory inadequacy on the relation between truth and meaning. It has been argued, however, that a Davidsonian truthconditional meaning theory is compatible with deflationism, despite Davidson's explicit antideflationist stance. In this essay, I will try to explain what the debate is. I suggest that the seeming tension can be reconciled by considering different aspects of deflationism, and that a complete answer to the compatibility question is hard to give without comprehensive and detailed examination of specific semantic theories.
The concepts of meaning and truth are related in various ways. Among all these, the position that... more The concepts of meaning and truth are related in various ways. Among all these, the position that truth can take in a meaning theory is especially of concern, for the shape of a meaning theory carries important implications on the nature of truth. Deflationism, the recently popular view that takes truth to be insubstantial, is accused by Davidson for its explanatory inadequacy on the relation between truth and meaning. It has been argued, however, that a Davidsonian truthconditional meaning theory is compatible with deflationism, despite Davidson's explicit antideflationist stance. In this essay, I will try to explain what the debate is. I suggest that the seeming tension can be reconciled by considering different aspects of deflationism, and that a complete answer to the compatibility question is hard to give without comprehensive and detailed examination of specific semantic theories.
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