Truth
truths are ‘useless’ in their lack of relevance to the context. So, because we are discussing pragmatism within a philosophical co ntext, when faced with ‘useless truths’, we should perhaps concern ourselves only with questions which will have philosophical consequences (that is, consequences upon a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour). 7
Conclusion
So, is truth a human invention? I have argued for a pragmatic position. Truth is constructed in response to certain empirical experiences which challenge what we have believed about the world. The brain makes new abductive leaps, in response to witnessing something we considered ‘impossible’. This is the process which defines the boundaries of use. What has not been addressed in this essay is the danger of cultural relativism. Whilst one could further explore pragmatism defined in terms of culture, the impact of globaliz ation and the definition of ‘use’ in broader ethical terms to deal with this problem, this essay has dealt with the most pressing concerns: the existence of ‘self - evident’ analytic truths, useless truths and the popular alternative theor ies of truth, correspondence and coherence.
Bibliography
Gordon, P. (2004). ‘Numerical cognition without words: e vidence from Amazonia’, Science 306: 496- 499. James, W. (1975) Pragmatism . Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press Kuhn, T. (1970 2 ) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions . Chicago: Chicago University Press Marian, D. (2020) ‘The Correspondence Theory of Truth’, in The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (ed. Edward N. Zalta), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/truth-correspondence/ Russell, B. (2013) The Problems of Philosophy . Eastford, Ct.: Martino Fine Books Wittgenstein, L. (2009 4 ) Philosophical Investigations . Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell (eds. P.M.S. Hacker & J. Schulte)
7 Definition from the Cambridge dictionary URL= <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/philosophy>
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