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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: dumb question about defining truth
Message-ID: <2299@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Aug-87 22:25:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmintl.2299
Posted: Mon Aug 10 22:25:45 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Aug-87 08:20:11 EDT
References: <3728@watdcsu.waterloo.edu>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Distribution: world
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT.
Lines: 21

In article <3728@watdcsu.waterloo.edu> dmcanzi@watdcsu.UUCP (David Canzi) writes:
>Let's say that you define truth something like this:  Statement X is
>true iff statement X satisfies condition Y.  In order to apply this
>definition to determine whether X is true, one must determine whether
>the statement "Statement X satisfies condition Y" is true.
>
>How do you do that?

Strictly speaking, it would seem that one must instead define: Statement X
is true iff statement X passes test Y.  Then to see if X is true, one must
perform Y; this no longer involves evaluating the truth of any sentence.

Note that to test the truth of statement X, we *apply* the definition.  This
is not the same as plugging statement X into the definition and seeing if a
true statement results; it is instead applying test Y.

(None of which should be taken as implying that any such test Y exists.)
-- 

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Ashton-Tate          52 Oakland Ave North         E. Hartford, CT 06108