[tylerboyd49]

In the first lecture, the statement is made that wishes, fears, hopes, etc are not truth-relational. I do not understand why “I wish I had $1,000,000” is not truth-relational since it is possible to truly wish I had the money. “I have a fear of heights” can communicate the truth that I fear heights. It makes sense to me that questions and commands cannot be truth-relational since “Come here please” cannot be true beyond the fact that it is stated. I do not understand why “I wish I had $1,000,000” is categorically different than “I like broccoli.”

[gerard.casey]

If you make a wish, it’s true that you have made a wish but the wish itself is neither true nor false. Try to imagine how you would react if, when you said to a friend “I wish I had a $1,000,000” your friend said “That’s false!” If what your friend is denying is your making of the wish, then he’s wrong; if, however, he is trying to deny the content of the wish, then his denial makes no sense.

If you say “I dislike broccoli” and your friend says “That’s not true” he may in fact be wrong in his assertion (the kind of relevant evidence here is his having seen you eat broccoli on many occasions, smacking your lips as you did so and saying things like “Mmmmmm, delicious!”) but, right or wrong, his denial is meaningful.

I hope this helps.

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