Final answer:
The theory based on formal logic asserts that a proposition is true if it corresponds with reality. Logic provides structure for arguments, assessing claims for validity. Philosophers, like Gottlob Frege, have significantly contributed to modern logic, emphasizing its role in reducing ambiguity and establishing truth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Theory of Logical Truth
The theory you're referring to is based on formal logic and centers around what conditions must be met for a sentence to be considered true or false. This approach starts from the belief that a proposition is true if it aligns with facts or reality. However, defining what constitutes 'facts' and how propositions relate to them often presents challenges. Logic is the tool used to formalize reasoning processes, providing a structure to claims made within arguments, where claims serve as conclusions drawn from premises—statements that offer evidence. Arguments in logic help formalize reasons that support claims and assess the validity based on logical consistency.
Philosophical methods such as dialectics and logical analysis aid in discovering truths. Dialectics involve reasoned debates that are meticulously scrutinized, following logical principles like the law of noncontradiction and the law of the excluded middle to test hypotheses and refine reasoning. Logical statements, which can be conditionals or universal affirmatives, are used to express necessary and sufficient conditions, and logical analysis helps evaluate whether the premises of an argument adequately support its conclusion. Furthermore, Aristotle's theory of truth, which is foundational to the study of logic, states that a statement is true if it accurately represents reality.
German philosopher Gottlob Frege contributed significantly to modern logic by illustrating that natural language sentences could be translated into formal symbolic language. Logic, similar in structure to mathematics, allows us to deconstruct sentences into names and predicates, which in turn helps reduce ambiguity. Logical analysis, then, is the process of assessing whether the logical inferences made within an argument hold up, ensuring that the premises logically lead to the conclusion.