Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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Recorded as part of the CFvW Colloquium on July 5th, 2023

Falsehood Without Reference to the Unreal -
Dr. Guus Eelink (CFvW Center)

Abstract:
If something is false, it is not a reality. But if it is not a reality, how can it be an object of speech at all? In other words, how is it possible for a falsehood to be expressed? I shall argue that these are precisely the questions raised by a puzzle Plato considers at Sophist 237b-e, against a tendency in the literature to see this puzzle as having no such direct bearing on the issue of falsehood. I shall also argue that Plato provides a satisfactory solution to the puzzle by means of his account of falsehood, which crucially hinges on a distinction between naming or referring on the one hand and saying on the other hand. Moreover, I shall argue that Plato’s account of falsehood differs from many modern accounts in that it does not involve such entities as states of affairs or propositions.

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