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at is generally regarded as the winner. How come? Largely because, for modern theories in logic and semantics, it delivers a greater simplification, unity, and elegance of approach. Of course, most people outside of that specialist circle would have no idea what these theories are. But this is an arrow to a more general point. Sometimes issues arise when theoretical research can lead you to reject common sense intuitions as, ‘the untutored deliverances of the uninformed intellect’. While that may sound snooty it is something you find in many disciplines. Thus the physicist may shock and provoke you by assuring you that the desk on which your hands are resting is mostly empty space, or that space is really curved, or that space is both finite and unbounded. When you point out that the physicist is talking sheer nonsense (which, in my opinion, is exactly what is happening!) the physicist will look at you pitifully and say, ‘It’s the maths you know. We’ve proved this over and over again. It’s been the consensus for years.’ This reply is disarming.

The general issue is that theories often find themselves in competition with common sense intuitions. And if we stand by common sense, we are reminded that for years flat Earthers boldly hung out in the name of common sense against the theory that the world was spherical. And when Copernicus and then Galileo declared that the Earth moved (both on its axis and through space), people laughed at them and said, ‘Then why don’t we all fly off into space?’ But just because common sense has had to surrender to theory, does it mean it always should?

Here’s a general tip. The best approach, if you can do it, is to use the theory in some way to explain away the contrary common sense intuitions – to explain why, to common sense, it all seems so different. For example nobody with a little tuition believes that the stick partially immersed in water bends at the water’s surface, despite the obvious evidence of our eyes. This is because the theory of refraction of light can itself be used to explain how and why the stick (wrongly) appears to bend.

TASK 3: Can you think of any examples in your own primary field of study where there is a theory that is today generally accepted, but which appears to fly in the face of common sense? Does this cause lay scepticism towards your discipline? Can you use the theory (or a related theory) to explain why it is that common sense (wrongly) assesses the situation as it does?

2. What is Truth (1) – Is Truth a Relation?

Probably the most common of all intuitions is that when we describe something as true we are relating it to something else. Moreover, that something else is what makes it true. But among those who hold that truth is a relation, the most hotly debated question is what that something else is.

Sometimes we can know a relational statement to be true without knowing the identity of the other term of the relation.

Thus:

(1)  Helen is married

And:
(2)  Bill is employed

are both relational statements, because each asserts that their subject (Helen, Bill) is related to another (a husband, an employer). But you can have reason to believe these statements are true without having any idea as to the identity of the other term. For example you can know that Helen is married, but have no idea who her husband is, and you can know that Bill is employed, but have no idea what he does本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。