Understanding Truth: Theories, Types, and Perspectives
The Nature of Truth
There are three ways we use the concept of truth:
- When we say that Mary arrived late to class, we indicate what happened.
- When we say that Maria is my friend, we indicate that we understand friendship.
- When we say that an argument is true, we mean that knowledge is well expressed in propositions.
The relation between truth and falsehood, illusion and deception is complex. You can lie by telling the truth and tell the truth lying.
Types of Truth
- Material Truth: Refers to the relation between propositions and facts or the relation between a being and a property. It has to do with the semantic field, the meaning of things.
- Formal Truth: Refers to the logical consistency of propositions, that the reasoning is consistent. It does not take into account the referents of propositions. The premises may be false, but the conclusions true. It has to do with the syntactic field.
Theories of Truth
- Correspondence: Representation that has the object represented.
- Coherence: A system of propositions is true if it is consistent. If two propositions are contradictory, none of them should be considered true. A deductive system is consistent from some premises.
- Pragmatics: Focuses on practice. Truth is relative and changes from the standpoint of examining the pragmatic reality. The pragmatic criterion of truth is applicability.
Understanding Reality
Previous theories differ in their understanding of reality:
- Correspondence Theory: Reality is what is physical.
- Coherence Theory: Focuses on a logically coherent theory.
- Pragmatic Theory: Reality is what is useful.
Attitudes Towards Reality
- Naive: Believes that reality is outside us and we perceive it as it is.
- Critical: Believes that the outside is not reality as we grasp it.
Idealism
Everything that has matter has a logical existence, but not everything that has a logical existence has a material existence. If there are no houses, there is still the idea or concept of a home. Logic is a creation of the Greek world from the immutable. Material existence is perishable, but not logic.
Types of Idealism
- Subjective: The world is what I think and what I perceive individually. There must be a minimum of objectivity to relate.
- Objective: Not to be confused with objectivity. Intersubjectivity is the agreement between a community to decide the truth of something. Objectivity is when something is true or valid by itself.
Dogmatism
Claims that there are absolute moral, knowledge, and truth. Not to be confused with fanaticism. Dogmas are articles of faith of strict belief. Both Plato and Aristotle are dogmatic because they believe in absolute truth, both in knowledge and in morals, but Plato favored slavery and Aristotle favored democracy. Dogmatism does not enter the exclusion of some members.
Criticism
Philosophy seeks to determine the limits of human knowledge. Kant claims that science cannot mark the limits of human knowledge because it is a tool that does not control its uses. Science is necessary for philosophy and vice versa. They are confronted, if not, they would be impoverished. All demonstrations face contact and not to perish.
Relativism
Believes that true knowledge can be reached, but these are not valid for all subjects and for all time. What may be true for one may not be for others, and what may have been true for a while may not be in another.
Types of Relativism
- Social and Cultural: The Sophists say that man has culture and arbitrary rules apply.
- Historical: All knowledge is historical and is located in an age by the state of society, culture, etc. What is false today could be true tomorrow and vice versa.