Eternal Truth by Convention

Abstract

Paul Boghossian has recently objected to any conventionalist characterization of
"timeless truths", such as those of mathematics and geometry, on the grounds that
conventionalism must implausibly regard such truths as becoming true only at the time
of their stipulation. Drawing on an insight of Ludwig Wittgenstein's, I show that
conventionalists can in fact offer a simple account of how some conventions can be
regarded as timelessly true.