Now (obviously) a sentence’s truth—even when we hold the…
““Now (obviously) a sentence’s truth—even when we hold the sentence’s meaning fixed—depends on which world we are considering. “Brown is Prime Minister” is true in the actual world but, since Brown need not have been Prime Minister, there are countless worlds in which “Brown is Prime Minister” is false: in those worlds, Brown did not succeed Tony Blair, or never went into politics, or never even existed. And in some other worlds, someone else is Prime Minister — David Cameron, P. F. Strawson, me, Madonna, or Daffy Duck. In still others, there is no such office as Prime Minister, or not even a Britain; and so on and so forth. So a given sentence or proposition varies its truth-value from world to world.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Truth of statements varies across possible worlds; context shapes meaning.
In simple terms: Truth depends on context.
Key Takeaway
Consider contextual truth.
Themes
philosophy
language
truth
modal logic
contextualism
Mood
analytical
inquisitive
Type
explanatory
philosophical
When to use this quote
- legal analysis
- academic debate
- creative writing
Key Concepts
possible worlds
semantic variation
counterfactual reasoning
Questions to Reflect On
- How does context alter truth?
- What implications for communication?
A Different Perspective
Absolute truth claims ignore variability.