But I owe it to the subject to say, that it has long afforded me what philosophy is so often thought, and made, barren of - the fun of discovery, the pleasures of co-operation, and the satisfaction of reaching agreement.
J. L. AustinRead
Sentences are not as such either true or false.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The truth of sentences is not always binary; it can be context-dependent.
J. L. Austin's quote emphasizes that the truth value of sentences cannot be strictly categorized as either true or false. This challenges the traditional binary understanding of propositions and highlights the importance of context, suggesting that meaning is often nuanced and shaped by various factors, such as linguistic conventions and situational context.
Themes
TruthMeaningContextLanguagePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about language in a philosophy class.
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All quotes βAfter all we speak of people 'taking refuge' in vagueness -the more precise you are, in general the more likely you are to be wrong, whereas you stand a good chance of not being wrong if you make it vague enough.
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