Reason and Rationality: Understanding Truth
Understanding Reason and Rationality
Reason is the feature that distinguishes and differentiates humans from animals. Rationality is defined as the use of reason to choose the best words or actions. According to Nicholas Rescher, rationality is the proper use of reason to choose the best. This applies to two areas: statements about the world and human actions, leading to two types of rationality.
Theoretical Rationality
Theoretical rationality is the use of reason when selecting the best reasons for an assertion. For example, stating “there is a book on the table” requires providing reasons to support the truth (or falsity) of the statement.
Practical Rationality
Practical rationality is the use of reason when choosing the most appropriate means to achieve a goal. For example, deciding how to get to the cinema. Practical rationality is often considered subordinate because theoretical knowledge of the world is an important step to making the best choices.
Sentences and Propositions
Sentences are statements that affirm or deny something and can be true or false. These sentences are called propositions. There are two types:
Analytical Propositions (Truths of Reason)
These are all formal and abstract statements that have no direct reference to the world, observation, or experiments. They are general and necessary truths that need not be contrasted with reality, such as those in logic or mathematics. Establishing the truth here is complex and problematic, often requiring reliance on sources such as books and the internet.
Synthetic Propositions (Factual Truths)
These are concrete knowledge about the world, which needs to be contrasted with reality. They address some specific aspect of the world, so we rely on experience to determine their truth or falsity. This leads to the concept of truth as correspondence.
Truth as Correspondence
Aristotle was the first to define truth in the following way: “To say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true; to say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false.” According to this view, truth exists if there is a correspondence between a statement and reality.
Voltaire said, “Pending a better definition, we define truth as the facts as they are.” If there is correspondence between a belief or affirmation and facts, the assertion is true; when there is no such correspondence, it is false.
Attitudes Towards a Proposition
- Ignorance: When it is unknown whether the statement is true or false.
- Doubt: When there is no certainty.
- Conviction: When there is certainty.
Criteria for Establishing the Truth of Propositions
Perception and Direct Experience
The data obtained through the senses provide basic information that is vital for survival. If we couldn’t depend on our senses, we would not survive. However, sometimes the senses can show a distorted picture of reality. In the early twentieth century, a group of psychologists concluded that the human mind processes information received from the senses, reconstructing and ordering it to give it shape. Sensation is the raw information received by the senses, and perception is the processed information shaped by the mind.
Scientific Knowledge
Scientific knowledge establishes facts through experiments or observations.