correspondence theory

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of correspondence theory¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

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 Literature

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

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

From The Guardian

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

From Project Gutenberg

The superiority of the 'correspondence' theory over the belief in 'intuitions' lies in its insistence that thought is not to audit its own accounts.

From Project Gutenberg