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Truth: The Deflationary Theory Vs. The Semantic TheoryDissertation, University of Toronto (Canada). 2003.In this thesis, I examine the dispute between deflationism and a version of classical inflationism---the semantic conception of truth. I will argue against the deflationary theory of truth and in favour of the semantic conception of truth, the theory of truth outlined and defended by Tarski in his articles "The Concept of Truth in Formalized Languages" and "The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundations of Semantics" . I will begin the thesis by arguing against the two main types of deflat…Read more
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1244Two kinds of a priori infallibilitySynthese 181 (2): 241-253. 2011.On rationalist infallibilism, a wide range of both (i) analytic and (ii) synthetic a priori propositions can be infallibly justified (or absolutely warranted), i.e., justified to a degree that entails their truth and precludes their falsity. Though rationalist infallibilism is indisputably running its course, adherence to at least one of the two species of infallible a priori justification refuses to disappear from mainstream epistemology. Among others, Putnam (1978) still professes the a priori…Read more
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731Infallible A Priori Self-Justifying PropositionsCroatian Journal of Philosophy 12 (1): 55-68. 2012.On rationalist infallibilism, a wide range of both (i) analytic and (ii) synthetic a priori propositions can be infallibly justified, i.e., justified in a way that is truth-entailing. In this paper, I examine the second thesis of rationalist infallibilism, what might be called ‘synthetic a priori infallibilism’. Exploring the seemingly only potentially plausible species of synthetic a priori infallibility, I reject the infallible justification of so-called self-justifying propositions.
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1220The Minimalist Theory of Truth: Challenges and ConcernsPhilosophy Compass 5 (10): 938-949. 2010.Minimalism is currently the received deflationary theory of truth. On minimalism, truth is a transparent concept and a deflated property of truth bearers. In this paper, I situate minimalism within current deflationary debate about truth by contrasting it with its main alternative―the redundancy theory of truth. I also outline three of the primary challenges facing minimalism, its formulation, explanatory adequacy and stability, and draw some lessons for the soundness of its conception of truth
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499A Dilemma for the Weak Deflationist about TruthSorites 18 129-137. 2007.The weak deflationist about truth is committed to two theses: one conceptual, the other ontological. On the conceptual thesis (what might be called a ‘triviality thesis’), the content of the truth predicate is exhausted by its involvement in some version of the ‘truth-schema’. On the ontological thesis, truth is a deflated property of truth bearers. In this paper, I focus on weak deflationism’s ontological thesis, arguing that it generates an instability in its view of truth: the view threatens …Read more
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756Truth, Superassertability, and ConceivabilityJournal of Value Inquiry 42 (3): 287-299. 2008.The superassertability theory of truth, inspired by Crispin Wright (1992, 2003), holds that a statement is true if and only if it is superassertable in the following sense: it possesses warrant that cannot be defeated by any improvement of our information. While initially promising, the superassertability theory of truth is vulnerable to a persistent difficulty highlighted by James Van Cleve (1996) and Terrence Horgan (1995) but not properly fleshed out: it is formally illegitimate in a similar …Read more
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709Nativism: In Defense of the Representational InterpretationCroatian Journal of Philosophy 9 (3): 303-315. 2009.Linguistic competence, in general terms, involves the ability to learn, understand, and speak a language. The nativist view in the philosophy of linguistics holds that the principal foundation of linguistic competence is an innate faculty of linguistic cognition. In this paper, close scrutiny is given to nativism's fundamental commitments in the area of metaphysics. In the course of this exploration it is argued that any minimally defensible variety of nativism is, for better or worse, married t…Read more
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864The Semantic Theory of Truth: Field’s Incompleteness ObjectionPhilosophia 35 (2): 161-170. 2007.According to Field’s influential incompleteness objection, Tarski’s semantic theory of truth is unsatisfactory since the definition that forms its basis is incomplete in two distinct senses: (1) it is physicalistically inadequate, and for this reason, (2) it is conceptually deficient. In this paper, I defend the semantic theory of truth against the incompleteness objection by conceding (1) but rejecting (2). After arguing that Davidson and McDowell’s reply to the incompleteness objection fails t…Read more
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Language |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Language |