[lit-ideas] Re: Try a Logic Problem
- From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 11:03:40 +0100 (BST)
--- Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Here is the text.
>
> http://www.ditext.com/tarski/tarski.html
Thank you for this (yes, I've not read it before). I will get back I hope,
but must take to some time to help ensure my future comments are less
ill-considered than they otherwise might be.
I note though that we seem to agree that Tarski's theory, being independent
of how we know a statement is true, is not 'epistemic' - but I may be wrong
about even this.
My present understanding (based on what I know of Popper's account, which I
know has been criticised [by Susan Haack for example]) is that the
correspondence relation of statement and facts can be said to be satisfied
(and exist) even without an explanation of how in some other further sense
this is possible (bearing in mind that we can have a theory for example as to
the laws governing how certain physical objects or forces interact, and that
this theory may even be true without any kind of further explanation as to
how this interaction is actually _possible_: put another way, a theory that
explains the laws governing how an immaterial force like gravity might affect
a physical body does not therefore explain how it is possible for an
immaterial thing to affect a material one; it assumes this possibility rather
than explaining it). I was not suggesting that Tarski explains in some such
sense how correspondence is possible (a problem Wittgenstein might be said to
have tackled in TLP with the theory that it is possible because language and
reality share a common structure). Rather he shows that a correspondence
relation is unproblematic from a logical point of view because, for example,
we can speak meaningfully of the relation provided we distinguish a
meta-language from an object-language.
As indicated though, I feel I have some homework to do on Tarski's paper and
am grateful for both your and Phil's comments in the meantime.
Donal
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