Matthew Moss
9-28-09
PHL-101-05
Week 3 Question
Week 3 Question – Truth
What is the problem that William James has with the type of definition of truth that
Bertrand Russell uses? (See study question number 3 under James).
Russell’s definition explains that Truth is a property of certain of our ideas, which means
that truth is a property of ideas that agrees with reality. James disagrees by explaining
that Truth is our ideas that can assimilate, validate, corroborate, and be verified. And
False ideas are those that we cannot assimilate, validate, corroborate, or be verified.