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The Logical Structure of Truthmaking

På svenska

Author

  • Staffan Angere

Summary, in English

This paper is an investigation in the use of truthmaker theory for exploring the relation of logic to world, and as a tool for metaphysics. A variant of truthmaker theory, which we call the simple theory, is defined and defended against objections. It is characterized formally, and its central features are derived. As part of this project, we give a formal metaphysics based on nondeterministic necessitation relations among possible entities. In what is called the fundamental theorem of truthmaking, it is shown that, as long as a logic is sound and complete, its inferential structure will be isomorphic to the necessitation structure of our metaphysics. We thus arrive at a purely structural logic-world relationship which can be used for metaphysical investigations. Other products of our investigation are a sound and complete semantics for first-order logic with identity and a solution to a result of Restall (Australian Journal of Philosophy, 74, 331-340, 1996) which has threatened to make truthmaker theory trivial.

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Pages

351-374

Publication/Series

Journal of Philosophical Logic

Volume

44

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Philosophy

Keywords

  • Truthmaking
  • Nondeterministic necessitation
  • Logic-world connection

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0022-3611