Dialogue Deleet: Reality changes all the time such that the truth value of propositions change. For instance, the proposition "Deleet is alive" is true right now but it will become false when I die. Similarly, the proposition "John F. Kennedy is alive" is false because reality has changed and he died. When he was alive, the proposition was true. Before he was born the proposition was also false. Ken: The proposition that Deleet is alive in 2009 is true 1,000 years ago, and will be true 1,000 years hence. All you have to do is to insert the missing time parameter. One true, always true. Reality doesn't change, what we say about it does. Deleet: It was my intention to leave the time parameter out. In this way the truth of the proposition changes when reality changes (correspondence theory of truth). Reality; the objective world changes. I will not discuss that here. Ken: Yes. Your leaving it out is why you think that truth changes with time. You should put it back in so that you will not think that. Deleet: My view is that your conflating two propositions: "Subject S is alive" and "Subject S is alive at time t". These are not identical; They are not the same proposition. They sometimes share truth values and they sometimes don't. Ken: But the first is an incomplete proposition, which is why you think that truth is temporal. It is like the difference between: 1. Dogs are mammals, and, 2. All dogs are mammals. 1 and 2 are not different propositions. 2 is just a complete proposition, and 1 is incomplete. You would not say that Dogs are mammal is a vague fact because the sentence, "Dogs are mammals" is incomplete, would you? Deleet: 1. There is no such thing as an incomplete proposition. A proposition is "[w]hat is conveyed by a declarative sentence [...]",
Incomplete propositions, time parameters
Incomplete propositions, time parameters
Incomplete propositions, time parameters
Dialogue Deleet: Reality changes all the time such that the truth value of propositions change. For instance, the proposition "Deleet is alive" is true right now but it will become false when I die. Similarly, the proposition "John F. Kennedy is alive" is false because reality has changed and he died. When he was alive, the proposition was true. Before he was born the proposition was also false. Ken: The proposition that Deleet is alive in 2009 is true 1,000 years ago, and will be true 1,000 years hence. All you have to do is to insert the missing time parameter. One true, always true. Reality doesn't change, what we say about it does. Deleet: It was my intention to leave the time parameter out. In this way the truth of the proposition changes when reality changes (correspondence theory of truth). Reality; the objective world changes. I will not discuss that here. Ken: Yes. Your leaving it out is why you think that truth changes with time. You should put it back in so that you will not think that. Deleet: My view is that your conflating two propositions: "Subject S is alive" and "Subject S is alive at time t". These are not identical; They are not the same proposition. They sometimes share truth values and they sometimes don't. Ken: But the first is an incomplete proposition, which is why you think that truth is temporal. It is like the difference between: 1. Dogs are mammals, and, 2. All dogs are mammals. 1 and 2 are not different propositions. 2 is just a complete proposition, and 1 is incomplete. You would not say that Dogs are mammal is a vague fact because the sentence, "Dogs are mammals" is incomplete, would you? Deleet: 1. There is no such thing as an incomplete proposition. A proposition is "[w]hat is conveyed by a declarative sentence [...]",