Truth

What is truth? This text offers an exposition of the philosophical theory of "minimalism", which argues that truth is an entirely mundane and unpuzzling concept. It makes a case for the minimalist view, and gives a systematic explanation of its implications for a variety of philosophical issues.

---

What is truth? In this text, Paul Horwich aims to give the definitive exposition of a notable philosophical theory, "minimalism". This is the controversial theory that the nature of truth is entirely captured in the trivial fact that each proposition specifies its own condition for being true, and that truth is therefore, despite the philosophical struggles to which it has given rise, an entirely mundane and unpuzzling concept. Horwich makes a case for the minimalist view, and gives a careful, systematic explanation of its implications for a cluster of important philosophical issues, on which questions about truth have impinged. For this second edition, Paul Horwich has refined and developed his treatment of the subject in the light of subsequent discussions, while preserving the original format. The book is published simultaneously with his book "Meaning", a companion work which sets out the broader philosophical context for the theory of truth: an account of meaning which seeks to accommodate the diversity of valuable insights that have been gained in the 20th century, within a common-sense view of meaning as deriving from use.
The two books together present a view of the relations between language, thought, and reality.