ejournals

Information

Articles

Sort:

Author

Translation in the Coherence Theories of Truth; a Bridge Spanning over Idealist Islands

Giulia Cirillo

Principia, Volume 68, 2021, pp. 5 - 26

https://doi.org/10.4467/20843887PI.21.001.18691

It is easy to fall for a conceptual beauty and simplicity of the coherence theory of truth. But the texts in which its foundations were for the first time explicitly developed are rich in subtleties, defying a consistent interpretation and inviting various forms of criticism. That is why the following study will take one more look at the writings of Harold H. Joachim and Brand Blanshard, in order to prove that in the analyses which they proposed there is an additional, so far unrecognised element – namely the process of translation – which plays a crucial role in making their accounts valid and complete. Initially then, the article will specify how the notion of translation should be here understood. Next, key postulates of both theories will be recalled, with an indication of several potential inconsistencies which they might entail. Finally, the analysis exposes translative ground of each reconstructed model.
What will be thereby underscored, is not only the interpretative depth of Joachim’s and Blanshard’s legacy, but also significance of translation for the philosophical enquiry into the nature of truth.

PDF

Author

The Semantic Definition of Truth as an Emergent Symbol of Translation Process

Giulia Cirillo

Przekładaniec, Special Issue 2/2023 – Experimental Translation, Issues in English, pp. 153 - 172

https://doi.org/10.4467/16891864ePC.23.014.18093

In their attempt to provide formal accounts of the concepts of truth and meaning, Tarski and Davidson did not completely purify their theories of cumbersome terms that retain a ‘semantic’ link to the physical reality. However, it can be argued that this burden was not located where the authors and their subsequent commentators generally claimed. The following article aims to demonstrate that a common semantic concept at the heart of their analyses was the idea of translation process. Firstly then, both theories will be briefly reconstructed on the basis of texts by the philosophers themselves. Subsequently, the place of a translative element will be pointed out. Its recognition will provide an interesting answer to several objections against the accounts, also shedding a new light on the outcome of their venture. Yet most importantly, the study shows that Tarski’s and Davidson’s definitions ultimately clinch an inextricable connection between translation and truth – a bond which should be acknowledged in any proper enquiry into the meaning of verity.

PDF