A report invites distinctions between the relation expressed by its words, the corresponding relation in reality, and the belief held by its speaker. The last is not the same as the external situation.
Take “Zayd is at home.”
1. The claim: Zayd’s being at home.
2. Reality: whether he is actually there.
3. Belief: whether the speaker thinks he is there.
These can diverge. The dispute about sidq and kadhib is intelligible only after keeping them apart.
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Truth and Falsehood in Reports: The Majority, al-Naẓẓām and al-Jāḥiẓ
A report invites distinctions between the relation expressed by its words, the corresponding relation in reality, and the belief held by its speaker. The last is not the same as the external situation.
Take “Zayd is at home.”
1. The claim: Zayd’s being at home.
2. Reality: whether he is actually there.
3. Belief: whether the speaker thinks he is there.
These can diverge. The dispute about sidq and kadhib is intelligible only after keeping them apart.