Necessary Factual Truth
In this book Gregory Browne rejects the views of David Hume and the Logical Positivists, and argues that there are necessary factual truths, which include a wide range of truths from many fields of knowledge. Browne argues for the necessity of Newton's Laws and truths about natural kinds, and for the factuality of definitional truths and truths of logic and mathematics. Browne synthesizes the work of Kripke, Putnam, Quine and others, but goes beyond the usual discussions of the meanings and...
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In this book Gregory Browne rejects the views of David Hume and the Logical Positivists, and argues that there are necessary factual truths, which include a wide range of truths from many fields of knowledge. Browne argues for the necessity of Newton's Laws and truths about natural kinds, and for the factuality of definitional truths and truths of logic and mathematics. Browne synthesizes the work of Kripke, Putnam, Quine and others, but goes beyond the usual discussions of the meanings and definitions of terms to discuss the references of various kinds of terms, and specifically to develop a theory of kinds, distinguishing "Deep Kinds" (roughly, natural kinds) and "Shallow Kinds" (e.g., triangles, bachelors). His theory of Deep Kinds does not accept all of the assumptions commonly associated wtih a theory of natural kinds.Author Biography: Gregory M. Browne teaches at Central Michigan University. Booknews This is a philosophical study based on a doctoral dissertation written in the early 1990s. It deals with the necessary/contingent and factual/vacuous dichotomies of truth, and also refers to the analytic/synthetic and a priori/a posteriori dichotomies. Discusses the various sources of the mistakes that lead to the denial of necessary factual truths, and gives background on terms, concepts, categories, and classes related to the author's arguments about necessary factual truths. Argues that some factual truths, including truths in chemistry and biology, are necessary, referring to the work of Kripke and Putnam. Author information is not given. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Chapter 1 Preface; Acknowledgements Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 The Principal Grounds for the Denial of Necessary Factual Truths Chapter 4 Preliminaries: Terms, References, Concepts, Meanings, and Declaratives Chapter 5 Categories and Classes Chapter 6 Necessity Chapter 7 Narrow Classes and Wide Classes (KINDS) Chapter 8 Causality Chapter 9 Depth and Shallowness Chapter 10 A Comparison of My Theory to Other Theories Having Implications for Deep Kinds Chapter 11 Introduction to Necessary Truths about Shallow Kinds Chapter 12 Against Mentalistic and Linguistic Interpretations of Shallow Kind Truths Chapter 13 On Other Grounds for Believing in the Non-Factuality of Shallow Kind Truths Chapter 14 On Other Grounds for Believing in the Non-Factuality of Necessary Truths Chapter 15 The Necessity of Shallow Kind Truths Chapter 16 The Necessity of Newton's Three Axioms of Motion Chapter 17 Index
\ BooknewsThis is a philosophical study based on a doctoral dissertation written in the early 1990s. It deals with the necessary/contingent and factual/vacuous dichotomies of truth, and also refers to the analytic/synthetic and a priori/a posteriori dichotomies. Discusses the various sources of the mistakes that lead to the denial of necessary factual truths, and gives background on terms, concepts, categories, and classes related to the author's arguments about necessary factual truths. Argues that some factual truths, including truths in chemistry and biology, are necessary, referring to the work of Kripke and Putnam. Author information is not given. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
