Within the secular and still ongoing discussion about truth, what is by now known as alethic plur... more Within the secular and still ongoing discussion about truth, what is by now known as alethic pluralism has proved to be one of the most interesting proposals advanced in the field. Indeed, from the last decade of the last century onwards, the field of theories about truth has been enriched with the idea that truth is not only one but also many-many alethically potent properties that differently characterise different domains of discourse. Moreover, thirty or so years of discussions have also shown that alethic pluralism itself is many rather than one-a family of views with different metaphysical commitments. As it may happen in all good families, though, some members are neglected or overshadowed. This is the case with the view called "simple alethic pluralism", and this paper seeks to remedy this. Accordingly, a new kind of simple alethic pluralism (termed "Plain Alethic Pluralism") is advanced. It highlights the features of the meaning of the word "true", in particular its focal meaning, while reaffirming the dependence of truth on the world. In drawing attention to the way speakers use the truth-predicate, making it acquire the meaning it has, it intends to qualify as a conception of truth with a human face.
In this paper I put forward some reasons to show how judgments of fact and judgments of value are... more In this paper I put forward some reasons to show how judgments of fact and judgments of value are intertwined. These reasons run contrary to a deep-rooted cultural tradition, which sees a sharp distinction—a dichotomy—between the natural sciences, on the one hand, and the human sciences, on the other, and therefore between facts and values. Accordingly, I show which tradition this is and what the advantages of abandoning its main tenets are. Central to the exposition is the explanation of why the science of valuations can be taken to represent one of the best instances of the inextricability of fact and value.
In his careful analysis of Fodor’s interpretation of Wittgenstein’s ‘Private Language Argument’ (... more In his careful analysis of Fodor’s interpretation of Wittgenstein’s ‘Private Language Argument’ (henceforth ‘PLA’), Diego Marconi claims that Fodor does not entirely succeed in finding a way out of the PL marsh. What I would like to do is to present some further considerations about Wittgenstein’s PLA and Fodor’s Language of Thought — often referred to as ‘mentalese’ — in an attempt to shed some further light on the issue.
In what follows I shall concentrate on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thought as it emerges from the essay... more In what follows I shall concentrate on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thought as it emerges from the essay by David Pears that appears in this volume. In addressing the Private Language Argument (henceforth PLA) Pears isolates two very important elements: the world and Wittgenstein’s general naturalistic stance. Both elements contribute to form a coherent and powerful philosophy which, nevertheless, seems to have an Achilles’ heel in its interpretation of truth. In other words, Wittgenstein’s conceptions of the world and naturalism seem to lose their potential when conjoined with what is now called a deflationary conception of truth and, moreover, do not seem to need this at all. The next section is dedicated to a brief discussion of Pears’ essay, whereas the other two to the connection of truth with, respectively, naturalism and world.
Within the secular and still ongoing discussion about truth, what is by now known as alethic plur... more Within the secular and still ongoing discussion about truth, what is by now known as alethic pluralism has proved to be one of the most interesting proposals advanced in the field. Indeed, from the last decade of the last century onwards, the field of theories about truth has been enriched with the idea that truth is not only one but also many-many alethically potent properties that differently characterise different domains of discourse. Moreover, thirty or so years of discussions have also shown that alethic pluralism itself is many rather than one-a family of views with different metaphysical commitments. As it may happen in all good families, though, some members are neglected or overshadowed. This is the case with the view called "simple alethic pluralism", and this paper seeks to remedy this. Accordingly, a new kind of simple alethic pluralism (termed "Plain Alethic Pluralism") is advanced. It highlights the features of the meaning of the word "true", in particular its focal meaning, while reaffirming the dependence of truth on the world. In drawing attention to the way speakers use the truth-predicate, making it acquire the meaning it has, it intends to qualify as a conception of truth with a human face.
In this paper I put forward some reasons to show how judgments of fact and judgments of value are... more In this paper I put forward some reasons to show how judgments of fact and judgments of value are intertwined. These reasons run contrary to a deep-rooted cultural tradition, which sees a sharp distinction—a dichotomy—between the natural sciences, on the one hand, and the human sciences, on the other, and therefore between facts and values. Accordingly, I show which tradition this is and what the advantages of abandoning its main tenets are. Central to the exposition is the explanation of why the science of valuations can be taken to represent one of the best instances of the inextricability of fact and value.
In his careful analysis of Fodor’s interpretation of Wittgenstein’s ‘Private Language Argument’ (... more In his careful analysis of Fodor’s interpretation of Wittgenstein’s ‘Private Language Argument’ (henceforth ‘PLA’), Diego Marconi claims that Fodor does not entirely succeed in finding a way out of the PL marsh. What I would like to do is to present some further considerations about Wittgenstein’s PLA and Fodor’s Language of Thought — often referred to as ‘mentalese’ — in an attempt to shed some further light on the issue.
In what follows I shall concentrate on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thought as it emerges from the essay... more In what follows I shall concentrate on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thought as it emerges from the essay by David Pears that appears in this volume. In addressing the Private Language Argument (henceforth PLA) Pears isolates two very important elements: the world and Wittgenstein’s general naturalistic stance. Both elements contribute to form a coherent and powerful philosophy which, nevertheless, seems to have an Achilles’ heel in its interpretation of truth. In other words, Wittgenstein’s conceptions of the world and naturalism seem to lose their potential when conjoined with what is now called a deflationary conception of truth and, moreover, do not seem to need this at all. The next section is dedicated to a brief discussion of Pears’ essay, whereas the other two to the connection of truth with, respectively, naturalism and world.
"Hilary Putnam’s Philosophical Naturalism: Making Philosophy Matter for Life" emphasizes both the... more "Hilary Putnam’s Philosophical Naturalism: Making Philosophy Matter for Life" emphasizes both the nature of Hilary Putnam’s link to the logical positivist tradition and his progressive critical departure from it. Massimo Dell’Utri argues that one of the main senses of this departure resides in implicitly revealing that there is no opposition between philosophy concerned with hard technical questions and philosophy concerned with ‘how to live.’ It is this innovative combination that made Putnam offer what is widely regarded as the most sensible interpretation of philosophical naturalism ever articulated. From the latter comes a multilevel image of reality, the realization of which required a lifelong reflection not only on science and its importance, but also on mathematics, knowledge, mind, truth, religion, morality, and more. This variegated reflection provides insight into how, despite shifts in opinion, Putnam’s thought reveals strong continuities and a systematic backbone issues of central philosophical importance.
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