2010 Course Handbook
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PHL280: Truth and Reality
To describe some statement as true does not seem to be a deep or philosophically interesting act. But reflect for a moment on just what it means to say that something is true? Perhaps we just mean it states a fact. But what is a fact? You might be tempted to say a fact is something that is true. But with this circularity you can begin to see that describing something as true is not nearly as straightforward as it seems. In this unit we examine some of the deep and philosophically interesting mysteries of truth and its connections with questions of realism. For instance: Is truth real, do we really add anything to a statement by calling it true? If truth is real, then how should we best define it? By exploring the connections between truth and reality, or by exploring the connections between truth and believers? Can it even be defined? Could it be that there are truths that we will never uncover, which are beyond our confirmation? These and related questions are the focus of this unit, along with work by such philosophers as Bertrand Russell, Frank Ramsey, C.S. Peirce, and Michael Dummett.
| Credit Points: | 3 |
| Contact Hours: | 3 |
| When Offered: | D1 - Day; Offered in the first half-year X1 - External study; Offered in the first half-year |
| Staff Contact(s): | Dr Albert Atkin |
| Prerequisites: |
12cp or admission to GDipPhil |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCW(s): | PHIL280 |
| Unit Designation(s): | |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: | Department of Philosophy |
Timetable Information
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