correspondence theory

American  

noun

Philosophy.

1. the theory of truth that a statement is rendered true by the existence of a fact with corresponding elements and a similar structure.

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Etymology

Origin of correspondence theory

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

The correspondence theory of truth makes truth a relation between statements and the world.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Quite the opposite—it was an expansive elaboration of a morphological correspondence theory that drove Carolee for so long: This looks like this.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 13, 2019

Let’s use the correspondence theory, whereby a statement is true if it corresponds to verifiable facts in an objective reality.

From The Guardian • Aug. 20, 2018

It seems fair to say that Brunelleschi’s image aspires to exemplify what philosophers call a correspondence theory of truth, in which a statement or representation is true if it corresponds to external reality.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The correspondence theory, then, does not test the truth-claim of the assertion; it only gives a fresh definition of it.

From Pragmatism by Murray, D. L.