Karl Popper, Alfred Tarski and Problems Concerning the Correspondence Theory of Truth
Karl Popper, Alfred Tarski and Problems Concerning the Correspondence Theory of Truth

Summary/Abstract: This paper retraces the way in which the Austrian philosopher Sir Karl Popper came to accept a Correspondence Theory of Truth from the work of the Polish logician and mathematician Alfred Tarski. This paper argues that Popper’s theoretical use of Tarski’s semantic theory of truth reveals crucial insights into the fundamental characteristics of Popper’s criticism of historicism and totalitarianism. Quite deceptively, arguments based upon Tarski’s theory of truth appear implicitly throughout the text of The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945). In order for arguments from Tarski to be of value in Popper’s political philosophy, some philosophical problems as to how these arguments concerning truth function in Popper’s work need to be examined. This paper examines some of the central problems Popper faced to this end and the way he was able to overcome them.

• Details
• Contents