On Being True or False

Book excerpt: The central issue of this book is not ‘What is true?’ or ‘What is truth?’, but ‘What sort of thing is true (or false)?’ This question has had several answers over the centuries, but, as argued here, all the main ones are mistaken. It is not pieces of language (sentences), events in the mind (beliefs), nor transcendent objects (propositions) that are either true or false. Rather, the chief truth-bearer is what someone says (or writes). Being true or false is rooted in human talk. The book argues that the other candidates must either be rejected or understood differently from traditional interpretations. Along the way, a large number of topics not usually considered in philosophical writings are touched upon—and there is a significant criticism of what theoretical linguistics has to say on the issues. No other book has attempted such a broad examination of the topic.