摘要

    真理是什麼？這是非常有趣且困難的哲學問題。許多哲學家試圖提出他們自己的定義，甚至有些人還認為「真理」這個概念並沒有太多實質內容。按照戴維森的想法，「真理」不僅是無法定義的，還是非常重要的概念。他不接受任何企圖貶低「真理」或將它化約至其他概念的理論。因為他認為，如果吾人沒有這個概念，就不會有任何概念。並且戴維森還提出，如果吾人擁有任何信念，這就表示吾人已擁有「真理是客觀的」這個觀念，意即能理解到該信念或許是為假的。但是如果我們以一般實在論者的方式，以真值承載者與獨立於吾人心靈的真值製造者之間的符應關係來說明「真理」的客觀性，那麼對於「真理」的把握就不會是吾人擁有思想的必要條件。對此，有必要以另一種方式來看待戴維森的想法。筆者在此處主要討論戴維森為何會認為「真理」是原初概念，以及他是如何反駁試圖定義「真理」的理論。對於「真理」的客觀性，筆者認為如果我們要理解戴維森的想法，就必須回答底下兩個問題：為什麼我們需要客觀性概念，以及我們如何能把握到這個概念。最後，筆者將以戴維森想法為基礎，儘可能地詮釋「真理」與客觀性之間的關聯。

    關鍵字： 戴維森，真理概念，客觀性概念

Summary

     What is truth? It is a very interesting and difficult philosophical question. Many philosophers try to give their definitions of the concept, and even some people suggest that there is not much to it. According to Davidson the concept of truth cannot be defined but is very important. He refuses to accept any theory that attempts to either deflate it or reduce it. Because, he says, if we don’t have this concept, we will have no concept at all. And Davidson suggests that one can’t have any belief without having a grasp of the concept of objective truth, that is, understanding that our beliefs may be false. But if we, like realist, appeal to the correspondence between truth bearers and mind-independent truth makers to interpret Davidson’s concept of objective truth, we will discover that our grasp of objective truth can’t be necessary for our thought. So, we must look for alternative interpretation of the objectivity of truth. In this study, I will discuss why Davidson claims that truth is a primitive concept and how he attacks those theories that try to define it. About his concept of objective truth my understanding is that if we want to know what Davidson means, we must answer two questions: why we need the concept of objectivity and how we can grasp it. Finally, I will also try to interpret Davidson’s theory regarding the relation between truth and objectivity as possible as I can.

Key words:  Donald Davidson, the concept of truth, the concept of objectivity