Michael Lynch (philosopher)

Michael Patrick Lynch is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut and Associate Fellow at both the Arché Centre for Logic, Language, Metaphysics, and Epistemology at the University of St. Andrews and the Northern Institute of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. He is the author of Truth in Context (MIT Press, 1998), True to Life (MIT Press, 2004), Truth as One and Many (OUP, 2009), and In Praise of Reason (MIT, 2012) as well as many professional philosophical articles. He was editor of the volume The Nature of Truth: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives (Bradford Books, 2001), co-editor with Professor Heather Battaly of the volume Perspectives on the Philosophy of William P. Alston (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), as well as co-editor with Professor Patrick Greenough of the volume Truth and Realism (OUP, 2006). He is also a contributor to the New York Times philosophy editorial blog The Stone.

Lynch is most well known for his pluralist theory of truth. He holds that truth is a functional property, i.e. that it is characterized by a particular function that can be realized in many different ways. For instance, some truths might realize truth's function by corresponding to reality while others might do so by cohering with a larger set of propositions. His work on the value of truth has also attracted attention, including critical reactions from philosophers ranging from Marian David to Richard Rorty.