Truth Conditions Research Articles

Some or Other: Partitive Disanaphors Across Languages

Abstract We present a cross-linguistically robust pattern of polyfunctionality between indefinite, partitive, and disanaphoric (‘another’) use of a single lexical item. In examining the connection between these different uses, we argue that a uniform semantics underlies all of them. We employ the salience theory of definiteness, with the specific implementation in a dynamic semantics with choice functions, to model the full spectrum of the attested uses without invoking implicit variables. The core meaning is the partitive implication, whereas the indefinite and the discourse-familiar disanaphoric readings are underspecified in the semantics and are argued to be additional construals conditioned by discourse factors. The partitive meaning, however, is shown itself to be subject to variable pragmatic packaging across languages, from being a part of the truth conditions to a postsupposition.

A formal approach to reanalysis and the Early Semantic Stability Hypothesis: exploring the test case of the negative counterfactual marker ʾilmale in Hebrew and Aramaic

Abstract This study delves into the intricate process of reanalysis, wherein linguistic expressions undergo grammatical or semantic changes, or sometimes both. The primary objective of this study is to explore the theoretical aspects surrounding historical changes of this nature. To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the topic, we provide a formal description of reanalysis as an analytical tool. Our formal description allows for the differentiation of various change scenarios, enabling us to identify distinct types of shifts from one analysis to another. This approach not only focuses on what has been reanalyzed, be it the morphology, syntax, or the semantics, but also emphasizes the interplay between all three linguistic modules (Form, Grammar, and Meaning) and their relationships. This holistic perspective enables a systematic examination of the significance of what remains constant at both points in time during the reanalysis process. The key insight arising from this analysis leads us to propose and substantiate the Early Semantic Stability Hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the truth-conditional semantics of the original proposition remain unchanged throughout reanalysis, either in all contexts or in specific “bridging contexts” where the reanalysis occurs. To demonstrate these phenomena, we present a compelling test case, focusing on the development of the counterfactual conditional marker ʾilmale in Hebrew and Aramaic. Through a detailed examination of the syntactic and semantic reanalyses it underwent, we observe the emergence of unique semantic features. By adopting a formal semantic perspective, we address fundamental questions such as the level of ambiguity required for reanalysis to take place, the potential existence of universal constraints on reanalysis, and potential motivations driving these linguistic changes. This investigation provides valuable insights into the intricate mechanisms at play during reanalysis and contributes to the broader understanding of linguistic evolution and development.

Large language models and their big bullshit potential

Newly powerful large language models have burst onto the scene, with applications across a wide range of functions. We can now expect to encounter their outputs at rapidly increasing volumes and frequencies. Some commentators claim that large language models are bullshitting, generating convincing output without regard for the truth. If correct, that would make large language models distinctively dangerous discourse participants. Bullshitters not only undermine the norm of truthfulness (by saying false things) but the normative status of truth itself (by treating it as entirely irrelevant). So, do large language models really bullshit? I argue that they can, in the sense of issuing propositional content in response to fact-seeking prompts, without having first assessed that content for truth or falsity. However, I further argue that they need not bullshit, given appropriate guardrails. So, just as with human speakers, the propensity for a large language model to bullshit depends on its own particular make-up.

Habituality Markers in Jordanian Arabic

Objectives: This study investigates the grammatical encoding of habituality within Jordanian Arabic. This linguistic phenomenon is expressed through specific markers for different tenses in the dialect. Methods: Our research employs a qualitative, theory-driven methodology rooted in truth-conditional semantics instead of a corpus-based approach. We base our findings on constructed utterances that are placed within specific contexts. Results: In the present tense, habituality is expressed using the copular verb bi-ku:n 'Pres-be'. The copula occurs within nominal sentences, serving as a marker that indicates the habitual nature of the action. The obligatory presence of the copula exclusively enforces a habitual interpretation. Conversely, the obligatory absence of the copula allows for two interpretations: episodic and habitual. Event plurality in the past tense, however, is constructed using the past auxiliary ka:n 'used to'. These constructions are known as periphrastic forms or retrospective habituals (Boneh and Doron, 2008). Conclusions: The periphrastic forms in Jordanian Arabic behave similarly to the perfective aspect, yet they are interpreted imperfectively. These periphrastic habituals are formed using both stage-level and individual-level predicates. However, the periphrastic forms incorporating stage-level predicates without an adverbial adjunct are ambiguous between a habitual and a non-habitual reading. The context serves to differentiate between the two readings.

Arabic within culture forensic interviews: Arabic native speaking lay-observer truth and lie accuracy, confidence, and verbal cue selection.

Cross cultural differences in behavioral and verbal norms and expectations can undermine credibility, often triggering a lie bias which can result in false convictions. However, current understanding is heavily North American and Western European centric, hence how individuals from non-western cultures infer veracity is not well understood. We report novel research investigating native Arabic speakers' truth and lie judgments having observed a matched native language forensic interview with a mock person of interest. 217 observers viewed a truthful or a deceptive interview and were directed to attend to detailedness as a veracity cue or given no direction. Overall, a truth bias (66% accuracy) emerged, but observers were more accurate (79%) in the truth condition with the truthful interviewee rated as more plausible and more believable than the deceptive interviewee. However, observer accuracy dropped to just 23% when instructed to use the detailedness cue when judging veracity. Verbal veracity cues attended too were constant across veracity conditions with 'corrections' emerging as an important veracity cue. Some results deviate from the findings of research with English speaking western participants in cross- and matched-culture forensic interview contexts, but others are constant. Nonetheless, this research raises questions for research to practice in forensic contexts centred on the robustness of western centric psychological understanding for non-western within culture interviews centred on interview protocols for amplifying veracity cues and the instruction to note detailedness of verbal accounts which significantly hindered Arabic speaker's performance. Findings again highlight the challenges of pancultural assumptions for real-world practices.

A Picture Corrects a Thousand Words – The Effect of Photos on Veracity Feedback

The truthiness effect (Newman et al., 2012) refers to the belief that any particular stimulus is truthful when it is accompanied by nonprobative information (e.g., a photograph). Accordingly, photo-accompanied statements are more likely to be judged as truthful compared to statements without a photo. In an online experiment (N = 98) with two assessment times, we aimed to replicate this effect and its persistence over time. Furthermore, we were interested in to what extent feedback on the actual veracity of statements would be affected by the presence of a photo. Participants rated the veracity of trivia statements either accompanied by a nonprobative photo or not. Feedback on veracity, with or without a nonprobative photo, was provided after some but not all veracity judgments. The truthiness effect could neither be replicated immediately nor after 48 h. Feedback facilitated discrimination between true and false statements − especially when accompanied by a photo. However, feedback also led to a bias towards responding “true”. Our findings suggest using photos in feedback on veracity.

Unlocking meaning: Truth-conditional semantic and syntactic analysis in the Bible

This research focused on complex conditional sentences in the Christian bible, employing truth-conditional semantics and syntactic analysis to uncover their theological messages. A qualitative study analyzed 20 verses, categorized into four types of conditional sentences according to Ferdinand de Saussure's syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. It involved word analysis, structural classification, context correlation, synonymous exploration, and historical and theological consideration. The findings revealed several key insights. First, conditional sentences in the Christian bible predominantly featured compound-complex structures with an active voice, highlighting subjects and actions in religious verses. Second, they adhered to declarative formats, aligning with truth-telling principles in religious contexts. Third, complex structures and subordinate clauses conveyed conditional details, reasons, and situations, elaborating on the interplay between syntax and semantics. This research enriched our understanding of the relationship among verb forms, modal verbs, and diverse meanings within English conditional sentence types in the Christian bible. Fourth, this research had a significant social impact on human development from a theological perspective by enhancing spiritual growth, critical thinking, and ethical understanding. It promoted personal transformation and reflective faith, providing religious leaders with tools to interpret scripture more accurately. Additionally, the research clarified how biblical language communicated moral imperatives, supported ethical frameworks, and facilitated interfaith dialogue. Preserving theological heritage contributed to the holistic development of individuals and communities. Ultimately, this study aimed to ensure the Bible's relevance in shaping social behavior aligned with Christian teachings.

Simplified Semantics for Further Relevant Logics I

This paper shows that the relevant logics E and Π′ are strongly sound and complete with regards to a version of the “simplified” Routley-Meyer semantics. Such a semantics for E has been thought impossible. Although it is impossible if an admissible rule of E  the rule of restricted assertion or equivalently Ackermann’s δ-rule  is solely added as a primitive rule, it is very much possible when E is axiomatized in the way Anderson and Belnap did. The simplified semantics for E and Π′ requires unreduced frames. Contra what has been claimed, however, no additional frame component is required over and above what’s required to model other relevant logics such as T and R. It is also shown how to modify the tonicity requirements of the ternary relation so as to allow for the standard truth condition for both fusion – the intensional conjunction ◦ – as well as the converse conditional ←.

Perceived Penalties for Sharing Patient Beliefs with Health Care Providers.

Health care interactions may require patients to share with a physician information they believe but is incorrect. While a key piece of physicians' work is educating their patients, people's concerns of being seen as uninformed or incompetent by physicians may lead them to think that sharing incorrect health beliefs comes with a penalty. We tested people's perceptions of patients who share incorrect information and how these perceptions vary by the reasonableness of the belief and its centrality to the patient's disease. We recruited 399 United States Prolific.co workers (357 retained after exclusions), 200 Prolific.co workers who reported having diabetes (139 after exclusions), and 244 primary care physicians (207 after exclusions). Participants read vignettes describing patients with type 2 diabetes sharing health beliefs that were central or peripheral to the management of diabetes. Beliefs included true and incorrect statements that were reasonable or unreasonable to believe. Participants rated how a doctor would perceive the patient, the patient's ability to manage their disease, and the patient's trust in doctors. Participants rated patients who shared more unreasonable beliefs more negatively. There was an extra penalty for incorrect statements central to the patient's diabetes management (sample 1). These results replicated for participants with type 2 diabetes (sample 2) and physician participants (sample 3). Participants believed that patients who share incorrect information with their physicians will be penalized for their honesty. Physicians need to be educated on patients' concerns so they can help patients disclose what may be most important for education. Understanding how people think they will be perceived in a health care setting can help us understand what they may be wary to share with their physicians.People think that patients who share incorrect beliefs will be viewed negatively.Helping patients share incorrect beliefs can improve care.

The political (a)symmetry of metacognitive insight into detecting misinformation.

Political misinformation poses a major threat to democracies worldwide, often inciting intense disputes between opposing political groups. Despite its central role for informed electorates and political decision making, little is known about how aware people are of whether they are right or wrong when distinguishing accurate political information from falsehood. Here, we investigate people's metacognitive insight into their own ability to detect political misinformation. We use data from a unique longitudinal study spanning 12 waves over 6 months that surveyed a representative U.S. sample (N = 1,191) on the most widely circulating political (mis)information online. Harnessing signal detection theory methods to model metacognition, we found that people from both the political left and the political right were aware of how well they distinguished accurate political information from falsehood across all news. However, this metacognitive insight was considerably lower for Republicans and conservatives-than for Democrats and liberals-when the information in question challenged their ideological commitments. That is, given their level of knowledge, Republicans' and conservatives' confidence was less likely to reflect the correctness of their truth judgments for true and false political statements that were at odds with their political views. These results reveal the intricate and systematic ways in which political preferences are linked to the accuracy with which people assess their own truth discernment. More broadly, by identifying a specific political asymmetry-for discordant relative to concordant news-our findings highlight the role of metacognition in perpetuating and exacerbating ideological divides. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Discursive authority in COVID-19 vaccination fact-checking: the case of @butantanoficial on Instagram

From the theoretical-methodological perspective of New Literacy Studies and French Discourse Analysis, this paper aims to investigate discursive strategies employed by Butantan Institute in publications aimed at debunking dis- or misinformation about COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil. The corpus consists of 32 visual-verbal textual productions (posts) published by the @butantanoficial profile on the digital social network Instagram in the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The hypothesis, grounded in the studies of Amossy (2022), is that over these years, the Institute has made various attempts to establish authority in the discourse surrounding COVID-19 vaccination, particularly concerning the possession of what would be perceived as “true statements” about vaccination, in contrast to “false statements”, within a context of disinformation and fake news. The results highlight the prioritization of strategies in the discursive construction and re-elaboration of an ethos closely tied to different demands from the public as well as to interests of the Institute itself, across various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adaptive Filtering with Fitted Noise Estimate (AFFiNE): Blink Artifact Correction in Simulated and Real P300 Data.

(1) Background: The electroencephalogram (EEG) is frequently corrupted by ocular artifacts such as saccades and blinks. Methods for correcting these artifacts include independent component analysis (ICA) and recursive-least-squares (RLS) adaptive filtering (-AF). Here, we introduce a new method, AFFiNE, that applies Bayesian adaptive regression spline (BARS) fitting to the adaptive filter's reference noise input to address the known limitations of both ICA and RLS-AF, and then compare the performance of all three methods. (2) Methods: Artifact-corrected P300 morphologies, topographies, and measurements were compared between the three methods, and to known truth conditions, where possible, using real and simulated blink-corrupted event-related potential (ERP) datasets. (3) Results: In both simulated and real datasets, AFFiNE was successful at removing the blink artifact while preserving the underlying P300 signal in all situations where RLS-AF failed. Compared to ICA, AFFiNE resulted in either a practically or an observably comparable error. (4) Conclusions: AFFiNE is an ocular artifact correction technique that is implementable in online analyses; it can adapt to being non-stationarity and is independent of channel density and recording duration. AFFiNE can be utilized for the removal of blink artifacts in situations where ICA may not be practically or theoretically useful.

The logical principles of hermeneutics

This article constitutes the first part of a more extensive work on hermeneutics and existential philosophy. It’s articulated as an analysis of some central statements of Truth and Method of Gadamer and both Being and Time and Contributions to Philosophy of Heidegger, conducted alternating five different points of view: metaphilosophy, epistemology, philosophy of logic, bio- and cognitive linguistics, and philosophy of language. In the present article I focus on philosophy of logic, with some excursions into philosophy of language. The main objective of the work consists in demonstrating what follows. A general impredicative structure is variously described and commented on in Truth and Method; I argue that it 1) corresponds logically to the intesional Liar-paradox; 2) derives exegetically from Heidegger’s differentiation between ἀλήθεια and truth in λόγος; 3) should be interpreted philosophically as the Hegelian Identity in Difference, despite Gadamer’s intention to avoid dialectic conclusions. Priest showed that the concept of Identity in Difference and the Law of Dialectical Contradiction describe the same structures, imposing a dialetheic lecture. Along this line, I argue, Gadamer’s followers should better present their argument as paraconsistent.

C. S. Lewis on Reality and Metaphor. From Myth to History and Back Again

The role of metaphor in understanding reality has been a recurring question in the field of metaphor theory. C. S. Lewis, influential scholar, author, and Christian apologist, presents a compelling perspective on metaphor as a means of understanding reality. This paper explores Lewis’s view on the possibility of speaking about reality through metaphor. By reality, Lewis understands both the physical and the supra-physical world. The first section of this article outlines how, for Lewis, metaphorical language can depict the spiritual or supra-natural world. The second section argues that a good metaphor has a meaning that is given rather than invented and the physical realm functions as a basis to understand the spiritual realm, and that this up-down-up direction of metaphorical expression conveys it most effectively. In the third section, I show how good, meaningful metaphors are true and allow us to make valuable and true statements because they convey reliable knowledge about reality. They also require action, the work of the will towards the good, and encourage stock responses. Section four presents metaphor as a linguistic tool which can unveil a connection between the observable physical world and the non-observable world. Additionally, the article briefly examines the disparities between Lewis’s views and some dominant philosophical trends, as well as two theories of metaphor, the interaction theory and the conceptual theory. The choice of these two theories of metaphor is based on their particular differences with Lewis’s view on two key aspects that are fundamental to the theory of metaphor, namely, meaning and truth.

Considerações acerca do místico, da inefabilidade e do silêncio como elementos de uma filosofia da religião no Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

The purpose of this article is to consider the mystical, the ineffability and the silence in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, with a view to identifying a possible philosophy of religion. To this end, the picture theory is first presented, which serves as a fundamental presupposition for understanding the unfolding of this work. The picture theory seeks to elucidate the nature of propositions. A proposition is constituted as a picture of a possible state of affairs, i.e. a proposition projects its meaning and provides V or F truth conditions. Secondly, the limits of propositionality are presented, namely tautologies and contradictions, as well as transgressions of the limits of what can be said, namely nonsenses or pseudo-propositions. Finally, based on these theoretical presuppositions, the unfolding of Wittgenstein’s theses on the picture theory at the level of the mystical is presented. For Wittgenstein, the mystical refers to the inexpressible. The ineffability of certain themes such as logic, ethics, aesthetics and God leads to a prudent silent contemplation, i.e. of what cannot be said but is shown. It is precisely in the realm of the mystical that we can find elements of a philosophy of religion in the Tractatus.

Vagueness and relative truth

Abstract According to a view called ‘nihilism’, sentences containing vague expressions cannot strictly speaking be true or false, because they lack definite truth conditions. While most theorists of vagueness tend to regard nihilism as a hopeless view, a few isolated attempts have been made to defend it. This paper aims to develop such attempts in a new direction by showing how nihilism, once properly spelled out, can meet three crucial explanatory challenges that, respectively, concern truth, assertibility, and communication.

Believe it or not: A network analysis investigating how individuals embrace false and true statements during COVID-19

ABSTRACT As individuals make belief decisions on truths and falsehoods, a systematic organization of (mis)information emerges. In this study, we employ a network approach to illustrate how a sample of Americans share a cognitive network of false and true statements related to COVID-19. Moreover, we examine what factors are associated with the formation of misbeliefs. Findings from our US-based rolling cross-sectional survey data indicate that conservative groups exhibit a greater tendency to mix up false and true information than liberal groups. This tendency is preserved across different time points, revealing more homogenously structured information networks of conservative groups compared to liberal groups. The benefits of a cognitive network framework that integrates structural perspectives into theories are discussed.

European Portuguese lá: Use-Conditional Meaning and Pragmaticalization

This study focusses on non-adverbial uses of lá in European Portuguese, whose exact meaning contribution still remains an open research question. Applying a multidimensional semantics framework, the central claim is that non-adverbial uses of lá represent use-conditional items. Passing the standard tests suggested in the literature, they thus do not contribute to the truth conditions of an utterance but specify particular use conditions. It is argued that they are felicitously used if a speaker wants to convey illocutionary modification, which pragmatically leads to mitigation or reinforcement effects. Diachronically, substantiated by historical data from the Corpus do Português, use-conditional lá is argued to be a product of a pragmaticalization process that led to so-called pragmatic fission at some point, i.e., to the polysemy of two synchronically available configurations of a truth-conditional and a use-conditional lá.

The truth conditions of sentences with referentially used definite descriptions

The truth conditions of sentences with referentially used definite descriptions

Taboos and Self-Censorship Among U.S. Psychology Professors.

We identify points of conflict and consensus regarding (a) controversial empirical claims and (b) normative preferences for how controversial scholarship-and scholars-should be treated. In 2021, we conducted qualitative interviews (n = 41) to generate a quantitative survey (N = 470) of U.S. psychology professors' beliefs and values. Professors strongly disagreed on the truth status of 10 candidate taboo conclusions: For each conclusion, some professors reported 100% certainty in its veracity and others 100% certainty in its falsehood. Professors more confident in the truth of the taboo conclusions reported more self-censorship, a pattern that could bias perceived scientific consensus regarding the inaccuracy of controversial conclusions. Almost all professors worried about social sanctions if they were to express their own empirical beliefs. Tenured professors reported as much self-censorship and as much fear of consequences as untenured professors, including fear of getting fired. Most professors opposed suppressing scholarship and punishing peers on the basis of moral concerns about research conclusions and reported contempt for peers who petition to retract papers on moral grounds. Younger, more left-leaning, and female faculty were generally more opposed to controversial scholarship. These results do not resolve empirical or normative disagreements among psychology professors, but they may provide an empirical context for their discussion.