Truth and the Absence of Fact

Truth and the Absence of Fact is a collection of essays by philosopher Hartry Field that examines fundamental questions about truth, reference, and meaning. The essays span two decades of Field's work on these topics and present his deflationary theory of truth. Field develops arguments against correspondence theories of truth and realism about mathematical entities. He explores how semantic concepts can be understood without relying on problematic notions of reference and truth-conditions. The book engages with major figures in philosophy of language and logic, including Tarski, Quine, and Kripke. Field addresses key debates about the nature of mathematical truth, semantic paradoxes, and the relationship between truth and meaning. The essays collectively advance a naturalistic approach to truth and meaning that aims to reconcile scientific realism with semantic anti-realism. This work has implications for understanding the foundations of mathematics, logic, and scientific knowledge.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Hartry Field's overall work: Readers describe Field's writing as dense and technically challenging, aimed at professional philosophers and logicians rather than general audiences. Readers appreciate: - Rigorous and systematic arguments - Original perspectives on mathematical truth and fictionalism - Clear explanations of complex logical concepts - Thorough engagement with opposing viewpoints Common criticisms: - Writing can be overly technical and difficult to follow - Heavy use of symbolic logic and formal notation - Limited accessibility for non-specialists - Some sections require multiple readings to grasp fully On Goodreads, "Science Without Numbers" averages 4.0/5 stars from a small sample of 28 ratings. Academic reviews tend to be more detailed, with philosophers praising Field's technical precision while noting the demanding nature of the material. One philosophy graduate student reviewer noted: "Brilliant but brutal - prepare to read each page multiple times." Another wrote: "Field's arguments are meticulous but the notation-heavy presentation makes this a tough slog for anyone without formal logic training."

Truth, Language and History by Donald Davidson Davidson's essays tackle truth, meaning, and interpretation through a similar analytical lens as Field's work, focusing on questions of realism and the nature of truth.

From an Objective Point of View by Timothy Williamson The text examines the foundations of knowledge and truth through mathematical and logical frameworks that align with Field's approach to philosophical investigation.

Science Without Numbers by Hartry Field Field's earlier work presents the mathematical groundwork that leads to the ideas in Truth and the Absence of Fact, exploring nominalism and mathematical truth.

New Essays on the A Priori by Paul Boghossian and Christopher Peacocke The collection addresses fundamental questions about knowledge and truth through papers that complement Field's investigations into the nature of mathematical and logical truth.

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge by Philip Kitcher Kitcher's analysis of mathematical knowledge and its foundations provides a counterpoint to Field's views while operating in the same philosophical space.

🔸 Hartry Field, the author, is known for developing a theory that attempts to show how mathematics can be useful in science without requiring mathematical objects to actually exist - a position known as mathematical fictionalism. 🔸 The book explores deflationary theories of truth, which propose that there's nothing more to truth than what is captured by simple statements like "'Snow is white' is true if and only if snow is white." 🔸 Field's work in this book significantly influenced debates about semantic paradoxes, including the famous Liar Paradox ("This sentence is false"), by developing new approaches to understanding truth and reference. 🔸 The essays in this collection were written over a 20-year period, showing the evolution of Field's thinking about truth, realism, and mathematical necessity. 🔸 The book challenges Quine's indispensability argument - the idea that we must believe in mathematical objects because they are indispensable to our best scientific theories - which was a dominant view in philosophy of mathematics.