Description

About this Course

About the Course

In this course Professor Simon Blackburn FBA (University of Cambridge) explores truth. In the first module, we consider the three main classical approaches to truth: correspondence, coherence and pragmatism. After that, in the second lecture we look at Charles’ Peirce’s methods of fixing belief, and the role of the scientific method in testing empirical claims. In the third module, we introduce deflationism and examine the utility of a deflationary account of truth as well as Frank Ramsey’s theory of redundancy. In the fourth module we examine various areas of enquiry in relation to truth, before finally in the fifth module, moving on to assess the value of truth in ethics and aesthetics.

About the Lecturer

Simon Blackburn FBA is an academic philosopher known for his many appearances in the British media such as BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze, the documentary series Closer to Truth, and his many publications spanning popular and academic philosophy. During his long career, he has taught at Oxford University, Cambridge University, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Blackburn has held several visiting appointments including the University of Melbourne University of British Columbia Oberlin College Princeton University Ohio State University and Universidad Autonomia da Mexico. For ten years he was adjunct professor at the Research School of Social Sciences Australian National University Canberra. Among his many principal works are His principal works are Spreading the Word: Groundings in the Philosophy of Language (1984); The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1996); Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy (2001); Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics (2002); Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed (2005); Plato's Republic: A Biography (2006); How to Read Hume (2008); Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (2001); Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love (2014); and On Truth (2018)