Trivial Truths and the Aim of Inquiry

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 89 (3):552-559 (2012)
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Abstract

A pervasive and influential argument appeals to trivial truths to demonstrate that the aim of inquiry is not the acquisition of truth. But the argument fails, for it neglects to distinguish between the complexity of the sentence used to express a truth and the complexity of the truth expressed by a sentence.

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2014

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10.1111/j.1933-1592.2012.00612.x

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Nick Treanor
University of Edinburgh

Citations of this work

Weighing epistemic and practical reasons for belief.Christopher Howard - 2020 - Philosophical Studies 177 (8):2227-2243.
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The aim of inquiry?Jane Friedman - 2024 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 108 (2):506-523.
Truth and epistemic value.Nick Treanor - 2018 - European Journal of Philosophy 26 (3):1057-1068.
Understanding and Structure.Allan Hazlett - 2017 - In Stephen R. Grimm (ed.), Making Sense of the World: New Essays on the Philosophy of Understanding. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press.

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References found in this work

The Philosophy of Logical Atomism.Bertrand Russell - 1940 - Open Court. Edited by David Pears.
Notebooks, 1914-1916.Ludwig Wittgenstein - 1961 - Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Edited by G. H. von Wright & G. E. M. Anscombe.

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