Notes for 12/2/2025

 

12/2/2025

Is Batman Bruce Wayne?

 

Is this statement TRUE?

 

Batman = Bruce Wayne

 

Correspondence theory of truth: A statement is true if and only if it corresponds to the facts.

 

Problem of fictional truth (truth in fiction)

 

“Sherlock Holmes was a plumber.”

 

Fictional truth involves a statement being true “in a story.”

 

What is it to be true in a story?

 

S is true in a story if and only if the story says that S. (S is represented as an assertion in the text.)

 

Implied truths in works of fiction?

 

Stories/texts can be contradictory.

 

“The following is a true story.”

 

“Sherlock Holmes was human.”

 

David Lewis: S is true in a text T if and only if S is true in the possible world that is most similar to the actual world in respect of T.

 

It is true in the Batman stories that Eric Sotnak is a philosopher.

 

S is true in a fictional text T if and only if it would be reasonable for an informed reader to infer S on the basis of T and the reader’s background information.

 

“Gotham City has more than 1000 residents.”

“Gotham City has exactly 1,025,001 residents”

 

 

S is true in a text T if and only if it would be reasonable for an informed reader of T to construct a model that is consistent with T and with the reader’s background information that does not include not-S as a component.

 

“In the Bible, Jesus was the son of God.”

 

 

 

 

 

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