does truth matter?

Does truth matter?

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What does it mean to say something is true?

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“Truth is what stands the test of time” Einstein

“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”

Wilde

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”

Einstein

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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?

Four: calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg

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“The truth, of course, is that a billion falsehoods told a billion times by a

billion people are still false.” Travis Walton

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To say something “is true” is much less problematic

than to say it is “the truth”.

Why?

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There are three main theories

of what is meant by, “x” is true....

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i. Correspondence Theory:(Going and looking;

observational truths)

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“A true proposition must correspond to or match

a state of affairs in the world.”

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Directions - True

Distances - True

Shapes - True

Areas - True

It corresponds to the real world - it is true and accurate

Mercator’s Projection

Easier to use but how well does it correspond to reality?

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ii. Coherence Theory:(Sitting and thinking;

logical truths)

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According to this view, a proposition is true if it is consistent with all the

other propositions we hold.

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If the pieces fit together they are coherent - like the pieces of a Jigsaw Puzzle

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When the pieces of an argument do not fit together they are

incoherent – and we do not accept the

argument as true.

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Coherent - but......

iii. Pragmatic(Does it work? Is it useful?;

practical truths)

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“The meaning of an idea is to be found in an examination of the consequences

to which it would lead” (C. S. Peirce)

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A proposition is true if it works or is useful in practice

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Thus pragmatists hold that truth is not absolute, but modified as

discoveries are made, and that it is therefore relative to the time, place and purpose of inquiry.

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Examples of beliefs.....

1. true and useful?

2. true but not useful?

3. not useful and not true?

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ToK - TruthTheory CriticismsCorrespondenceA proposition is true if it corresponds to a fact

1.The correspondence theory requires the existence of all sorts of ghostly facts to which true statements are supposed to correspond2. Since there is a gap between language and the world, correspondence can never be perfect3. We cannot determine the truth or falsity of a proposition in isolation from other propositions

CoherenceA proposition is true if it fits in with our overall set of beliefs

1. Coherence is not sufficient for truth. A fairy tale may be perfectly coherent, but it is still a fairy tale.2. With a little ingenuity, any crazy belief can be made to appear coherent.3. A knowledge claim that does not fit in with your way of thinking might still be true.

PragmaticA proposition is true if it is useful or works in practice

1. A proposition can be true but not useful, and useful but not true.2. Pragmatic theory implies that two contradictory beliefs could both be true.3. ‘Useful’ and ‘works in practice’ are too vague to get us very far.

Extras

Other theories and approaches:

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A cubist approach to truth …

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To know what is true we need to look at many different perspectives

and try to combine them in a coherent way

that corresponds to reality

There are also those who are, to a greater or lesser degree,

doubtful of our ability to attain the truth, and therefore of the possibility

of any knowledge: this kind of critical outlook is called

‘Scepticism‘.

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Relativism - argues that there is (or, we can have) nothing other

than our different outlooks

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Instead of trying to give and use a definition of absolute or universal truth, we can only study how the concept of truth has been and is being used in particular societies.

Foucault

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“Keep the company of those who seek the truth, and run away from those

who have found it” Havel

Does the word truth mean the same thing in each of these cases:

1. It is the truth that a triangle has 3 sides.

2. ‘There is ice at the North Pole’ is the truth.

3. There is real truth in that painting.

4. Ain’t that the truth!

5. This scripture is God’s truth.

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ToK – Truth (02)Some key points:

• Correspondence Theory says that a statement is true if it corresponds to a fact; but it is not clear in what sense facts exist, and the language in which we describe things will always fall short of reality

• Coherence Theory says that a proposition is true if it fits in with our overall set of beliefs; but a set of beliefs can be coherent yet untrue

• Pragmatic Theory says that a proposition is true if it is useful or works in practice; but a proposition can be true but not useful, and useful but not true

• We cannot dispense with the idea of truth, and it could be argued that the more perspectives we have on something the closer we get to the truth about it

• Although it is generally considered good to seek the truth, it does not always make us happy. The growth of modern technology in particular, may make us wonder whether the costs sometimes outweigh the benefits

• Beyond knowledge lies wisdom, which might be said to consist of: good judgement, breadth of vision, self-knowledge, responsibility and intellectual humility

Truth

LanguageDoes language hide the truth more than it reveals it?

PerceptionHow far can our

senses be trusted to give us the

truth?

EthicsIs truth more

important than happiness?

ArtsWhat relation, if

any, is there between beauty

and truth?

HistoryDoes the history of ideas suggest we are getting closer to the

truth?

Human Sciences

Do human beings have any

privileged access to truth?

MathsAre math truths universal and

timeless

Natural SciencesIs the scientific

method the best way of finding the

truth?

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