TREPISTEME · Formal Truth in Epistemology
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-10-01 → 2018-09-30
- EU contribution
- €183,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Formal Truth in Epistemology
The project was devoted to bridging a gap in the literature between work in epistemology and work on the notion of truth. While there has been a lot of work on modelling epistemic or doxastic notions, such as knowledge or belief, and the notion of truth individually, little work has been conducted towards providing combined formal frameworks in which these notions are treated simultaneously. But such combined frameworks are important for adequately modelling philosophical thought, arguments and discussions. The principal objective of the project was hence to provide formal frameworks for the notion of truth and epistemic or doxastic notions, which are adequate from such an integrated perspective. The project provided (i) an analysis of the problems such a combined approach needs to overcome, (ii) an application of a combined framework to a specific philosophical problem, i.e., the question whether the mind can be mechanized and (iii) a semantic framework for truth and modal theories of knowledge and (iv) a proof-theoretic investigation into truth in hyperintensional contexts.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Understanding the notions of truth and knowledge has been at the root of the philosophical enterprise since the very beginning. It turns out that these notions are intimately related and that understanding truth requires understanding knowledge and vice versa. Constitutive questions concerning these notions, such as “Are there truths that cannot be known?” can only be understood, let alone answered, if we have a grasp of both notions. Epistemology, conceived as the study of human knowledge, should therefore simultaneously investigate the notion of truth. Surprisingly, very little research has been conducted from this perspective. Rather research on truth and research on knowledge has been mostly conducted independently. This project will approach the traditional epistemological question of the definition of knowledge from this integrated perspective, and attempt to bridge a gap between current research in epistemology and research on theories of truth. Formal tools and techniques have played an important role in the development of philosophy in the last century. More recently, there has been something like a renaissance of the use of formal methods in philosophy, and in particular in epistemology, with the rise of so-called formal epistemology. The project may be viewed as a contribution to this renaissance since it will make essential use of tools from philosophical and mathematical logic. The ultimate aim of the project is to provide a formal framework for truth and epistemic, or doxastic, notions such as knowledge and belief that is philosophically adequate from an epistemic and a truth theoretic point of view. A unifying framework for the notions of truth and knowledge will prove to be a powerful tool for philosophy, casting new light on several debates in epistemology. The project will therefore deepen and advance our understanding of two of the most central philosophical notions: truth and knowledge.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL · BRISTOLCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union