Truth in Philosophy

Charles Huenemann

It is hard to see how philosophical claims can make sense, since they often are claims about objects we do not experience in normal, natural ways. Wittgenstein and Quine argue on this basis that traditional philosophy should be abandoned. In this paper I offer a defense of traditional philosophy. First I argue that philosophical claims can gain meaning through tradition, in just the same way that claims made in art criticism gain meaning through tradition. Then I argue that this does not force us to give up on truth in philosophy. Instead, I think we are left to make the best decisions we can regarding whether particular claims are meaningful and whether they are true. These decisions are made in the contexts of our traditions, but this is just as it should be.