Abstract

It should perhaps be stressed at once that to reject the "attributive" view of truth does not imply that the predicative use of the word "true" is illegitimate or in some sense ungrammatical. It would indeed be absurd to make such a claim. At the same time, it is important to bear in mind that the predicative use of "true" gives no justification for interpreting truth as an attribute or as a characterizing feature of an object, even if the concept of an object is widened to include linguistic items. It is useful to remember that the adverb "truly" as well as the adjective "true" can occur as part of grammatical predicates. Furthermore, "true" can occasionally be replaced by the substantive with ease. Thus we say "What he said is true" and also "He spoke the truth." Witnesses in court swear to speak "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." The elasticity of common usage which allows one to express the same thought now with the help of the adjective and now with the help of the noun much too frequently tends to be ignored in discussions about truth. Yet this elasticity itself is a clear warning against interpreting truth too rashly as an attribute.