Dear Lew, First of all glad to see that you are well and
even more so to see your contributions again. There are
two competing theories of truth. One is the 'referential'
the other based on 'meaning'. Say 'bachelor' means the same
as 'unmarried man' or 'plinth' means the same as 'base'. This one is also called 'analityc'. The problem however is that we need the reference to the reality: there is no truth inside the language. Both are combined in Tarski's theory of truth which is based on quantification and conditions. Say: 'some man are young and bold'. 'Some' is an quantifier while 'young' and 'bold' are conditions which some persons need to satisfy in order to make such statements true. Even persons who have never heard about whatever theory of truth are obviously able to say: 'I know 3 of such persons'. This means that they understand what 'young' and 'bold' means but also that there are such persons in reality which they are able to recognise. In your 'meanings theory' no Japanese will be able to recognise any 'plinth' while we in the West would have no idea what 'base' is refering to. As a scientist you are supposed to believe in the 'universal truth'. The 'synonym'
approach will not do as you can check by Quine or may conclude from my explanation.
Regards,
even more so to see your contributions again. There are
two competing theories of truth. One is the 'referential'
the other based on 'meaning'. Say 'bachelor' means the same
as 'unmarried man' or 'plinth' means the same as 'base'. This one is also called 'analityc'. The problem however is that we need the reference to the reality: there is no truth inside the language. Both are combined in Tarski's theory of truth which is based on quantification and conditions. Say: 'some man are young and bold'. 'Some' is an quantifier while 'young' and 'bold' are conditions which some persons need to satisfy in order to make such statements true. Even persons who have never heard about whatever theory of truth are obviously able to say: 'I know 3 of such persons'. This means that they understand what 'young' and 'bold' means but also that there are such persons in reality which they are able to recognise. In your 'meanings theory' no Japanese will be able to recognise any 'plinth' while we in the West would have no idea what 'base' is refering to. As a scientist you are supposed to believe in the 'universal truth'. The 'synonym'
approach will not do as you can check by Quine or may conclude from my explanation.
Regards,