Truth Theory Run Amock

A prevailing assumption of theories of truth is that anyone will agree that their truth theory captures exactly what truth is. Yet, almost no theorist asks an average person what they think truth is. Is this an accurate way of arguing about truth?

My hypothesis is that if we ask ordinary people ("folk," if you will) what they think truth is, then a theory of truth will present itself. Truth will turn out to be objective. I want to contend that testing ordinary intuitions about truth will enable us to understand the nature of truth.

One objection that I must consider is whether people are attuned to truth. Do ordinary people understand what philosophers mean by truth? I will want to respond by insisting that we interpret people's intuitions charitably. Ordinary people have an understanding of truth. They are able to detect errors. If they can detect errors, particularly with respect to false information, then they have a fairly clear understanding of truth. Thus, folk intuitions about truth are informative, and truth theorists ought to consider seriously what people have to say about truth.

I've Been Everywhere...

It's been a busy few weeks. I've been traveling for the past three or four weeks. In mid-March, I drove from Salt Lake to Denver, stayed for a week-and-a-half in Denver, enjoyed some skiing at Eldora Mountain Resort and Copper Mountain for two of those days.

Driving from Denver to Salt Lake was a trecherous ride on March 21st (Anyone traveling that stretch of road that day knows what I am talking about). There was a severe snowstorm crossing the high plains between Cheyenne and Laramie. Blowing snow in Wyoming is not fun! There were two accidents I witnessed. One car skidded off the road into the center median, and a semi skidded 180 degrees, flipped on its side, and slid down the center median.

After surviving the driving ordeal, I spent 24 hours in Salt Lake. Then, I flew to Oakland for the APA-Pacific in San Francisco. Three days after the APA trip I headed back to Denver for this past weekend.

Now, I'm back in Salt Lake for at least the next two weeks. I can't miss the Environmental Ethics, Science, and Policy conference this weekend and the Weber State University Undergraduate Philosophy conference the weekend of 4/15-4/16.