Following up on the last post: we already know that our epistemic virtues originate from the activities of language and communication. When we ask questions, make assertions, and engage in communication, we are already presupposing a desire for a true answer. Thus, the act of asking a question inherently embeds a desire for the truth. However, this does not mean that when someone faces a question, they cannot debate whether they should actually tell the truth in that specific instance. Therefore, speaking the truth is not a strictly necessary requirement for communication to occur. In the real world, people lie every day, yet the world does not descend into total disorder because of it. What we can infer from this is that while truth is important for language, this alone does not fully explain why we ought to be truthful.

接续上一篇笔记：我们已经知道，我们的认知美德源于语言和沟通活动。当我们提出问题、作出断言并进行交流时，我们已经预设了对真实答案的渴望。因此，提问这一行为本身就内在地包含着对真相的渴求。但这并不意味着，当一个人面对问题时，他不能犹豫这次是否应该说真话。因此，说真话并不是交流发生的绝对必要条件。在现实世界中，人们每天都在撒谎，但世界并没有因此陷入无序。由此我们可以推断出：尽管真相对于语言很重要，但这本身还不足以充分解释为什么我们应当说真话。