The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths
In this paper, our main goal is to present a new account for contradictions and impossible truths. It is loosely based on both Austin’s account of truth and the Logic of Impossible Truths (LIT), a formal semantics designed to address incomplete, inconsistent, and non-normal sets of sentences. Our m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology |
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| Online Access: | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/107898 |
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| author | Guilherme Araújo Cardoso Francisco Augusto Nogueira Lages |
| author_facet | Guilherme Araújo Cardoso Francisco Augusto Nogueira Lages |
| author_sort | Guilherme Araújo Cardoso |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In this paper, our main goal is to present a new account for contradictions and impossible truths. It is loosely based on both Austin’s account of truth and the Logic of Impossible Truths (LIT), a formal semantics designed to address incomplete, inconsistent, and non-normal sets of sentences. Our main thesis is that some truths are impossible (in the sense that they accurately classify impossible situations), but no impossibility is real, no impossible truth is about real situations. We divide the paper into four sections. In section 1, we motivate the Riddle of Impossible Truths as a general observation based on paradoxes, counterpossibles and impossible fictions. In section 2, we present our account of impossible truths, drawing on LIT and Austin’s views on truth and propositions. Section 3 is dedicated to reflecting on the artifactual nature of impossible situations. We also argue, based on Knuuttila’s ideas about models, that impossible situations serve as epistemic tools. Finally, in section 4, we conclude the paper with some thoughts on future directions for research.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e18bc14e813a4eeb97e1993418d00108 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1808-1711 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e18bc14e813a4eeb97e1993418d001082025-08-20T03:12:20ZengUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaPrincipia: An International Journal of Epistemology1808-17112025-07-0129210.5007/1808-1711.2025.e107898The Fictional Guide to Impossible TruthsGuilherme Araújo Cardoso0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0045-8508Francisco Augusto Nogueira Lages1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5203-8801Universidade Federal de Ouro PretoChristchurch City Council In this paper, our main goal is to present a new account for contradictions and impossible truths. It is loosely based on both Austin’s account of truth and the Logic of Impossible Truths (LIT), a formal semantics designed to address incomplete, inconsistent, and non-normal sets of sentences. Our main thesis is that some truths are impossible (in the sense that they accurately classify impossible situations), but no impossibility is real, no impossible truth is about real situations. We divide the paper into four sections. In section 1, we motivate the Riddle of Impossible Truths as a general observation based on paradoxes, counterpossibles and impossible fictions. In section 2, we present our account of impossible truths, drawing on LIT and Austin’s views on truth and propositions. Section 3 is dedicated to reflecting on the artifactual nature of impossible situations. We also argue, based on Knuuttila’s ideas about models, that impossible situations serve as epistemic tools. Finally, in section 4, we conclude the paper with some thoughts on future directions for research. https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/107898Impossible TruthsDialetheismParaconsistencyNonvacuismSituationsArtifacts |
| spellingShingle | Guilherme Araújo Cardoso Francisco Augusto Nogueira Lages The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology Impossible Truths Dialetheism Paraconsistency Nonvacuism Situations Artifacts |
| title | The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths |
| title_full | The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths |
| title_fullStr | The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths |
| title_short | The Fictional Guide to Impossible Truths |
| title_sort | fictional guide to impossible truths |
| topic | Impossible Truths Dialetheism Paraconsistency Nonvacuism Situations Artifacts |
| url | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/107898 |
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