Overview

Pascal Engel offers this concise presentation and discussion of contemporary philosophical issues in the theory of truth. After a brief presentation of the classical conceptions of truth (correspondentist, coherentist, verificationist and pragmatist) the study focuses upon the debate between those who favour ""substantive"" conceptions of this classical kind and those who advocate so-called ""minimalist"" and ""deflationist"" conceptions, and who deny that truth can be any more than a thin concept, carrying no metaphysical weight. The author argues that, although the minimalist conception of truth is basically right, it does not follow that truth can be eliminated from our philosophical thinking, as it is claimed by some upholders of radical deflationist views. It is argued, in particular, that some deflationist views have a definitely relativist and ""postmodernist"" ring and should be rejected. Even if a metaphysical substantive theory of truth has little chance to succeed, the author argues, truth can keep a central role within our thinking, as a norm or guiding value of our rational inquiries and practices, in the philosophy of knowledge and in ethics.

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9781902683584

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Pascal Engel, who teaches at the Sorbonne, is one of the leading figures in the ongoing attempt to make the disciplinary matrix of French philosophy more like that of Anglo-American philosophy, and to get French philosophers to take seriously the problems discussed by their Anglophone colleagues. In this book, he offers a clear, succinct, and very useful review of discussions of the concept of truth. - Richard Rorty, Stanford University well-informed, giving a judicious view of a great deal of the recent work on truth - the discussions are clear and helpful, and students both at introductory and at quite advanced levels will be very grateful for it. - Simon Blackburn, University of Cambridge

"""Pascal Engel, who teaches at the Sorbonne, is one of the leading figures in the ongoing attempt to make the disciplinary matrix of French philosophy more like that of Anglo-American philosophy, and to get French philosophers to take seriously the problems discussed by their Anglophone colleagues. In this book, he offers a clear, succinct, and very useful review of discussions of the concept of truth."" - Richard Rorty, Stanford University ""well-informed, giving a judicious view of a great deal of the recent work on truth - the discussions are clear and helpful, and students both at introductory and at quite advanced levels will be very grateful for it."" - Simon Blackburn, University of Cambridge"

Author Information

Pascal Engel is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Philosophy at the University of Geneva.

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