Basic Questions on Truth

There are basic questions concerning truth that have been perennial throughout the history of philosophy from the Ancient Greeks onwards: is "true" a superfluous particle? Is "true" a predicate? What is the relation of truth to the validity of inference rules? Are definitions true or false? What are the bearers of truth - sentences, judgements, or propositions? Can truth be interpreted by correspondence to facts, despite difficulties with the Liar and with a definition of "fact"? Can we have a consistent and adequate understanding of approximate truth (verisimilitude)? And the metaphysical question: does truth have some relation to being? All these questions are treated in a rigorous argumentation style: (1) Question, (2) objections to a positive answer, (3) answer and thesis, (4) comments and reply to the objections. This transparent, systematic style facilitates our understanding, touches on a variety of aspects of the question, and teaches us to think.