What is truth? Michael Lynch defends a bold new answer to this question. Traditional theories of truth hold that truth has only a single uniform nature. All truths are true in the same way. More recent deflationary theories claim that truth has no nature at all; the concept of truth is of no real philosophical importance. In this concise and clearly written book, Lynch argues that we should reject both these extremes and hold that truth is a functional property. To understand truth we must understand what it does, its function in our cognitive economy. Once we understand that, we'll see that this function can be performed in more than one way. And that in turn opens the door to an appealing pluralism: beliefs about the concrete physical world needn't be true in the same way as our thoughts about matters -- like morality -- where the human stain is deepest.

About the Author
Michael P. Lynch is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Reviews
this is truly a thought-provoking and admirable book. * Christine Tappolet, Mind *
In Truth as One and Many, Michael Lynch offers a new theory of truth... Anyone with an interest in theories of truth of the metaphysical sort will benefit from reading the book and studying the details. * Nicholas J. J. Smith, Analysis *
a valiant attempt to synthesize the most compelling features of the range of views on truth. It brings exciting new life to the enterprise, and should be required for anyone with even a passing interest in the metaphysical issues. * Stewart Shapiro, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199218738
Author Michael P. Lynch
Format Hardback
Page Count 216
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 409g
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 144mm * 19mm