Vol. 2 No. 2 (2022)
Research Article

The Indispensability of Truth

PDF
  • Jonathan D. Culler
Jonathan D. Culler
Department of Literatures in English, Cornell University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47075/CEC.2022-2.01

Published 2023-03-08

How to Cite

Culler, Jonathan D. 2023. “The Indispensability of Truth”. Central European Cultures 2 (2):2-18. https://doi.org/10.47075/CEC.2022-2.01.

Copyright (c) 2023 Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Humanities scholars often hesitate to declare something true, but truth is indispensable. This essay surveys possible accounts of truth in analytic philosophy, before looking at the functioning of truth in everyday life and the place of truth in the work of two leading theorists often thought to question or deny truth. Jacques Derrida critiques assumptions about truth but embraces a drive towards truth and Bruno Latour’s work is devoted to showing how truth is produced through complex systems. Truth is not simple but functions as both foundation and a goal.

PDF