Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Truth in the 19th and 20th Centuries

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Semantics and Truth

Part of the book series: Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science ((LEUS,volume 45))

  • 297 Accesses

Abstract

Views on truth of German and Austrian philosophers (among others, Lotze, Fries, Erdmann, Mauthner, Bolzano, Brentano, Frege) as well as British philosophers (Bradley, Joachim, Russell) are presented in this chapter. As Tarski as a mathematician and philosopher grew up in Poland, the special section is devoted to truth-definitions put forward by some Polish philosophers and logicians of the 20th century. The last section contains a sample of definitions circulating in philosophy in the last hundred years—most definitions are taken from analytic philosophy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adamowicz, Z., Artemov, S., Niwiński, D., Orłowska, E., Romanowska, A., Woleński, J. (Eds.) (2004). Provinces of Logic Determined. Essays in the Memory of Alfred Tarski. Parts I, II and III (Annals of Pure and Applied Logic, 127). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajdukiewicz, K. (1949). Zagadnienia i kierunki filozofii. Warszawa: Czytelnik; Eng. tr. (by H. Skolimowski, A. Quinton), Problems & Theories of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alston, W. (1996). A Realist Conception of Truth. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayer, A. J. (1946). Language, Truth and Logic. London: Gollancz (2nd ed.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Betti, A. (2004). Leśniewski’s aarly liar, Tarski and natural language. In Adamowicz, Artemov, Niwiński, Orłowska, Romanowska, Woleński (2004), 267–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolzano, B. (1837). Wissenschaftslehre. Sulzbach: Geiblish; Eng. tr., Theory of Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bosanquet, B. (1911). Logic or the Morphology of Knowledge. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, F. H. (1883). The Principles of Logic. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, F. H. (1893). Appearance and Reality. A Metaphysical Essay. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, F. H. (1907). On truth and copying. Mind, XVI, 94–110; repr. in Bradley (1914), 107–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, F. H. (1914). Essays on Truth and Reality. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, F. H. (1922). The Principles of Logic. Oxford: Clarendon Press (2nd ed.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandl, J. (2017). Was Brentano an early deflationist about truth? The Monist, 100(1), 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brentano, F. (1930). Wahrheit und Evidenz. Leipzig: Felix Meiner; Eng. tr. (by R. Chisholm, I. Politzer, K. Fischer), The True and the Evident. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brożek, A., Chybińska, A., Jadacki, J., Woleński, J. (Eds.) (2015). Tradition of the Lvov–Warsaw School. Ideas and Continuations. Leiden: Brill/Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Candlish, S. (2007). The Russell/Bradley Dispute and Its Significance for Twentieth Century Philosophy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnap, R. (1947). Meaning and Necessity. A Study in Semantics of Modal Logic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2nd ed., 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casari, E. (2016). Bolzano’s Logical System. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Church, A. (1943). Carnap’s Introduction to Semantics. The Philosophical Review, 52, 298–305; repr. in Church (2019), 259–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Church, A. (2019). Collected Papers. The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Czarnocka, M. (2017). A Path to a Conception of Symbolic Truth. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Czeżowski, T. (1919). Imiona i zdania (Names and sentences). Przegląd Filozoficzny, 22, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, M. (2004). Theories of truth. In Niiniluoto, Sintonen, Woleński (2004), 331–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. (1969). True to facts. The Journal of Philosophy, 66, 748–764; repr. in Davidson (1984), 37–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. (1984). Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodd, J. (2000). The Identity Theory of Truth. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R. (1930). Wörterbuch der philosophischen Begriffe, v. III. Berlin: Mittler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erdmann, B. (1892). Logik. Logische Elementarlehre. Halle: Niemeyer; Berlin: de Gruyter (3rd ed.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Frápolli, M. J. (2013). The Nature of Truth: An Updated Approach to the Meaning of Truth Ascriptions. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. (1918). Der Gedanke. Beiträge zur Philosohie des deutschen Idealismus, I, 58–77; Eng. tr. (by P. Geach). In Frege (1984), 351–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. (1969). Nachgelassene Schriften. Hamburg: Felix Meiner; Eng. tr., Posthumous Writings. Oxford: Basil Blackwel 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. (1984). Collected Papers on Mathematics, Logic and Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fries, J. F. (1837). System der Logik. Ein Handbuch zur Lehrer und Selbstgebrauch. Heidelberg: Winter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gödel, K. (1944). Russell’s mathematical logic. In Schillp (1944), 125–153; repr. in Gödel (1989), 119–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gödel, K. (1989). Collected Works, v. II. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotthardt, J. (1918). Das Wahrheitsproblem in dem philosophischen Lebenswerk Bernard Bolzanos. Trier: Paulinus-Drückeri.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greimann, D. (Ed.) (2007). Essays on Frege’s Conception of Truth (Grazer Philosophische Studien, 75). Amsterdam: Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grover, D. (1992). A Prosentential Theory of Truth. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintikka, J., Puhl, K. (Eds.) (1994). The British Tradition in 20th Century Philosophy Papers of 17th Ludwig Wittgenstein Symposium. Kirchberg am Wechsel: The Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horwich, P. (1998). Truth. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 2nd ed., 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoven, A. (1989). Wege zur Wahrheit. Eine typologische Studie über Wahtheitstheorien. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E. (1913). Logische Unresuchungen (Band 2). Halle: Niemeyer; Eng. tr. (by J. N. Findlay), Logical Investigations (v. 2). London: Routledge 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E. (2002). Urteilstheorie. Vorlesung 1905. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1907). Pragmatism. A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Popular Lectures on Philosophy. London: Longmans, Green and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joachim, H. (1906). The Nature of Truth. An Essay. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joachim, H. (1907). A reply to Mr. Moore. Mind, XVI, 410–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotarbiński, T. (1913). Zagadnienie istnienia przyszłości (The problem of the existence of future). Przegląd Filozoficzny, 15, 74–92; Eng. tr, The Polish Review, 13(3)(1968), 7–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotarbiński, T. (1926). Elementy logiki formalnej, teorii poznania i metodologji (Elements of Formal logic, Theory of Knowledge and Methodology). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Koła Filozoficznego S. U. W. i Koła Przyrodników S. U. W.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotarbiński, T. (1929). Elementy teorii poznania, logiki formalnej i metodologii nauk (Elements of Theory of Knowledge, Formal Logic and Methodology of Science). Lwów: Ossolineum; Eng. Gniosiology. The Scientific Approach to the Theory of Knowledge. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Künne, W. (2003). Conceptions of Truth. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lapointe, S., Woleński, J., Marion, M., Miśkiewicz, W. (2009). The Golden Age of Polish Philosophy. Kazimierz Twardowski’s Philosophical Legacy. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leśniewski, S. (1913). Krytyka logicznej zasady wyłączonego środka (The critique of the logical principle of the excluded middle). Przegląd Filozoficzny, 16, 315–352; Eng. tr. in Leśniewski (1992), 17–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leśniewski, S. (1913a). Czy prawda jest tylko wieczna czy też wieczna i odwieczna (Is all truth only true eternally or it is also true without a beginning). Nowe Tory, 10, 493–528; Eng. tr. in Leśniewski (1992), 86–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leśniewski, S. (1929). Grundzüge eines neuen System der Grundlagen der Mathematik. Fundamenta Mathematicae, 14, 1–81; Eng. tr. (by M. P. O’Neil) In Leśniewski (1992), 410–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leśniewski, S. (1931). O podstawach matematyki VI (On the foundations of mathematics). Przegląd Filozoficzny, 34, 142–170; Eng. tr. in Leśniewski (1992), 364–382.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leśniewski, S. (1992). Collected Works. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1910). O zasadzie sprzeczności u Arystotelesa. Studyum Krytyczne (On the Principle of Contradiction in Aristotle). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności; Eng. tr (by H. R. Heine), The Principle of Contradiction in Aristotle: A Critical Study. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1912). O twórczości w nauce (Creative elements in science). In Księga Pamiątkowo ku uczczeniu 250-tej rocznicy założenia Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego przez króla Jana Kazimierza (Memorial Book on the Occasion of Establishment of Lvov University by the King Jan Kazimierz), v. II, 1–20. Lwów: Nakładem Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego, 1–20; Eng. tr. in Łukasiewicz, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1913). Die logische Grundlagen der Wahrshenlichkeitsrechnung. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności; partial Eng. tr. in Łukasiewicz (1970), 16–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1915). O nauce (On science). In Poradnik dla Samouków, Warszawa: Heflich i Michalski, XV–XXXIX).

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1930). Philosophische Bemerkungen zu mehrwertigen Systemem des Aussagenkalküls. Comptes Rendus des Sèances de la Société des Sciences et de Lettres de Varsovie, Classe III, 51–77; Eng. tr. in Łukasiewicz (1970), 153–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1957). Aristotle’s Syllogistic from the Standpoint of Modern Formal Logic. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1962). O determinizmie [Mowa Rektorska z 1922 r.] (On determinism. The Rector Speech in 1922]. In Łukasiewicz (1962), 114–126; Eng. tr. in Łukasiewicz (1970, 110–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1962). Z zagadnień logiki i filozofii (Problems of Logic and Philosophy). Warszawa: Państwowe: Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1970). Selected Works. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauthner, F. (1902). Zur Grammatik und Logik. Stuttgart: Cotta.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, H. (1926). Wahrheit und Wirklichkeit. Tübingen: Mohr.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merricks, T. (2007). Truth and Ontology. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, G. E. (1907). Mr. Joachim’s nature of truth. Mind, XV, 229–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, G. E. (1953). Some Main Problems of Philosophy. London: George Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murawski, R., Woleński, J. (2008). Tarski and his precedessors on truth. In Patterson (2008), 21–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neale, S. (2001). Facing Facts. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nesher, D. (2002). On Truth and the Representation of Reality. A Collection of Inquiries from a Pragmatist Point of View. Landham: University Press of America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niiniluoto, I., Sintonen, M., Woleński, J. (Eds.) (2004). Handbook of Epistemology. Dodrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardey, U. (2012). Frege on Absolute and Relative Truth. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasquerella, L. (1989). Brentano and Kotarbiński on truth. Topoi, 4 (Supplement: Object and Its Identity), 98–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, D. E. (Ed.) (2008). New Essays on Tarski and Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K. (1972). Objective Knowledge. An Evolutionary Approach. Oxford: Clarendon Press; repr. with additions, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prawitz, D., Skyrms, B., Westerståhl, D. (Eds.) (1994). Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science IX. Amsterdam: Elsevier

    Google Scholar 

  • Quine, W. v. O. (1987). Quiddities. An Intermittently Philosophical Dictionary. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, F. P. (1927). Facts and propositions. Proceeding of Aristotelian Society. Supplementary Volume, VII, 153–170; repr. in Ramsey (1931), 138–155 and Ramsey (1978), 40–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, F. P. (1931). The Foundations of Mathematics. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; 2nd ed., Foundations. Essays in Philosophy, Logic, Mathematics and Economics. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, F. P. (1991). On truth. Original Manuscript Materials (1927–1929) from the Ramsey Collection at the University of Pittsburgh. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, F. P. (2007). Truth and simplicity (Ed. by A. Koslow). British Journal of Philosophy of Science, 58, 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1903). The Principles of Mathematics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1904). Meinong’s theory of complexes and assumptions (III). Mind, XIII, 509–524; repr. in Russell (1973), 54–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1906). The nature of truth. Mind, XV, 528–533.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1906a). What is truth? Independent Review, 9, 349–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1907). On the nature of truth. Proceedings of Aristotelian Society (New Series), VII, 28–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1910). Philosophical Essays. London: Longmans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1912). The Problems of Philosophy. London: Wiliam and Norgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1940). An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth. London: George Unwin and Allen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1973). Essays in Analysis. New York: George Braziller.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1984). The Theory of Knowledge. The 1913 Manuscript. London: George Allen and Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schillp, P. A. (Ed.) (1944). The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell. La Salle: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlick, M. (1918). Allgemeine Erkenntnislehre. Springer, Berlin; Eng. tr. General Theory of Knowledge. Wien: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, P. (1992). Philosophy and Logic in Central Europe from Bolzano to Tarski. Selected Essays. The Hague: Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srzednicki, J. (1965). Franz Brentano’s Analysis of Truth. The Hague: Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarski, A. (1992). Drei Briefe an Otto Neurath [25. IV. 1930, 10. VI. 1936, 7. IX. 1936], together with Eng. tr., Grazer Philosophische Studien, 42, 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twardowski, K. (1900). O tzw. prawdach względnych (On so-called relative truths). In Księga Pamiątkowa Uniweysytetu Lwowskiego ku uczczeniu pięćsetnej rocznicy Fundacji Jagiellońskiej Uniwersytetu Krakowskiego (Memorial Book of Lvov University on the Occasion of 500th Anniversary of Jagiellonian Fund—the University of Kraków) Lwów: Nakładem Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego, 64–93; Eng. tr. in Twardowski (1999), 103–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twardowski, K. (1912). O czynnościach i wytworach. Kilka uwag z pogranicza psychologii, gramatyki i logiki (Actions and products. Remarks from the boderline of psychology, grammar and logic). In Księga Pamiątkowo ku uczczeniu 250-tej rocznicy założenia Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego przez króla Jana Kazimierza (Memorial Book on the Occasion of Establishment of Lvov University by the King Jan Kazimierz), v. II. Lwów: Nakładem Uniwersytetu Lwowskiego, 1–33; Eng. tr. in Twardowski (1999), 103–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twardowski, K. (1975). Wykłady z teorii poznania w r. a. 1924–25 (Theory of Knowledge. Lecture Course 1924–25). Archiwum Historii Filozofii i Myśli Społecznej, 22, 241–299; Eng. tr. in Twardowski (1999), 181–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twardowski, K. (1999). On Actions, Products and Other Topics in Philosophy. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittgenstein, L. (1922). Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (Ed.) (1990). Kotarbiński: Logic, Semantics and Ontology. Dordrecht: Kluwer

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1990a). Kotarbiński, many-valued logic and truth. In Woleński (1990), 190–197; repr. in Woleński (1999), 115–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1993). Two concepts of correspondence. From the Logical Point of View, II(3), 42–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1994). Controversy over the concept of correspondence (Bradley, Joachim, Russell). In Hintikka, Puhl (1994), 537–543; repr. in Woleński (1999), 233–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1994b). Contributions to the history of the classical truth-definition. In Prawitz, Skyrms, Westerståhl (1994), 481–495; repr. in Woleński (1999), 139–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1998). Theories of truth in Austrian philosophy. Reports on Philosophy, 18, 13–49; repr. in Woleński (1999), 150–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (1999). Essays in the History of Logic and Logical Philosophy. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (2004). Aletheia in Greek thought until Aristotle. In Adamowicz, Artemov, Niwiński, Orłowska, Romanowska, Woleński (2004), 339–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (2009). The rise and development of logical semantics in Poland. In Lapointe, Woleński, Marion, Miśkiewicz (2009), 43–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J. (2015). Truth-theories in the Lvov–Warsaw School. In Brożek, Chybińska, Jadacki, Woleński, 2015, 73–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woleński, J., Simons, P. (1989). De Veritate: Austro-polish contributions to the theory of truth from Brentano to Tarski. Szaniawski, 1989, 391–442.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jagiellonian University (prof. emeritus), Kraków, Poland

    Jan Woleński

  2. University of Information, Technology and Management, Rzeszow, Poland

    Jan Woleński

Authors
  1. Jan Woleński
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan Woleński .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Woleński, J. (2019). Truth in the 19th and 20th Centuries. In: Semantics and Truth. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24536-8_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation