Difference between revisions of "Truth"

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'''Truth''' is a term used to stand for very different concepts.  Commonly it is used to mean "correspondence with facts", but often to signify "good" or "just". Jesus Christ, in saying "...I am the way, and the <u>truth</u>, and the life..." is clearly not claiming that he corresponds to facts!  Alternatively "truth" and "true" are often used rhetorically to distinguish between a common held concept and the arguers preferred alternative.  Repressive regimes will thus counter pleas for freedom by claiming that they allow "true" freedom, dictatorships will claim to be "true" democracies.  This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth as correspondence with the facts.
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[[File:Beliefs and knowledge and truths.png|right|thumbnail|400px|A Venn diagram picturing the traditional definition of [[knowledge]] as justified true [[belief]] (That is represented by the yellow circle). ]]
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<small>'''This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to [[God]] and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[Truth (logic)]].'''</small>
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<center>"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - [[John, Chapter 8|John 8:32]].</center>
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'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. [[Jesus Christ]], the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the <u>truth</u>, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.
  
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== Difficulties ==
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[[Conservatives]] value truth, and wish to seek it.
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What is meant by "the facts"?  Often the term "fact" is thought to mean "something that is true".  If truth is then defined as correspondence to the facts the whole descends into cirularity. This gives rise to the "paradoxes of truth" such as:
 
  
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<blockquote>
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== Truth as a Value ==
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'''Liar paradox:''' This sentence is false
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Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it is the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.
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</blockquote>
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As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth (in the absolute sense) to be an important value. They believe that truth is [[Subjectivism|subjective]], and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]] or [[nihilism]], also [[phenomenology]] and [[epistemology]].
  
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If the sentence is false then it correctly describes itself and is, therefore, true.  On the other hand if it is true it mis-describes itself and is, therefore, false.
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=== Importance of truth ===
  
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[[Alfred Tarski]], in attempting to formulate a conception of truth that avoided these paradoxes, formulated a way of seperating the concept of truth from "the facts" it was to represent. His ''Semantic Theory of Truth'' held that truth was part of a meta-language, a language that talks about basic languages.  The basic languages, known as "object languages" describe, or purport to decribe, the state of the world.  The meta-language then descibes whether or not the basic language has succeeded. [[Karl Popper]] recommended thinking of the languages in terms of two different natural languages.  <ref>Popper, K.R. ''The Open Society and It's Enemies, Vol 2.'' Routledge. London. 1966. p 369-396</ref>.  Take, for example, French as the basic language and the statement:
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*[https://www.theologyofwork.org/key-topics/truth-deception/why-truthtelling-is-important/ Why Truthtelling Is Important], Theology of Work website
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*[https://www.fastmissions.com/article/importance-of-truth The Importance of Truth] by Dan Vis, FastMissions.com
  
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<blockquote>
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==Opponents==
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'''Object language statement''': La niege est blanc
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Many opponents of truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[Communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]].  Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are, out of some misguided notion of politeness. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary ''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]''. Many [[liberal]]s mock Truth by coining terms like "[[truthiness]]" (a creation of liberal talk show host and "comedian" [[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.
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</blockquote>
 
  
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This makes a statement about the world. A good many statements may be made about this statement (meta statements), one of which would be whether it is true or not. Reverting to English we may say:
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Liberals don't understand truth on a very basic level. They assume that truth is something intrinsic to the Universe, but in fact, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no truth. Without truth, there is no morality. Without morality, you can do whatever you want. This is the basis of Liberalism and it explains why Liberals feel the desire to mock truth.
  
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<blockquote>
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== Leo Tolstoy on lying to oneself and its consequences on one's ability to discern truth ==
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'''Meta-language statement:''' "La niege est blanc" is true if, and only if, the snow is white
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<br />
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</blockquote>
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[[File:Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky 1876.jpg|thumbnail|400px|center|“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” - [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] ]]
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{{Clear}}
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It can be readily seen that the English statement above is not a statement about the world, but a statement about the French phrase and its ''relation'' to the world. It is a meta-statement and is true or false depending on the meaning of the French phrase rather than the actual state of the world. The English phrase would be true even if snow where turquoise.
 
  
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If the liar paradox is recast in this way the paradox disappears.  "Cet enonce est faux" purports to accuratey describe the world, but does it?  What conditions can we attach to it, in the meta-language, to determine when it is true and false?  ""Cet enonce est faux" is true if and only if it describes a state of the world which is not the case" or, alterntively, ""Cet enonce est faux" is false if and only if it describes a state of the world which is the case".  As the statement "cet enonce est faux" fails to describe a state of the world it can be neither true nor false: it is simply a meaningless string of words.
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==See also==
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== Truth as a Value ==
 
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Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as deceit or corruption. Christians in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the Bible, and Jesus himself.
 
  
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==Opponents==
 
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Several opponents of truth exist, such as [[communist]] [[China]] and [[Adolph Hitler]]s [[Nazi Germany]], both of which advocates the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentaly, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]]. Former [[Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many liberals mock Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" (Stephen Colbert) to deride the real nature of truth.
 
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==See also==
 
 
*[[God]]
 
*[[God]]
 
*[[Jesus Christ]]
 
*[[Jesus Christ]]
 
*[[Holy Spirit]]
 
*[[Holy Spirit]]
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*[[Postmodernism]]
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*[[Belief]]
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*[[Relativism]]
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*[[Cafeteria Christianity]]
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*[[Epistemology]]
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*[[Understanding]]
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*[[Rational thinking]]
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*[[Logical reasoning]]
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*[[Falsifiable]]
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*[[Doubt]]
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Essay:
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*[[Essay: Where is the truth?]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/truth.htm
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*http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm
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*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
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*[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth/ Truth], [[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]
 
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]
 
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]
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*[http://studylove.org/18ALETHE.HTM Study Love: But Rejoiceth In The Truth], an analytical outline on "rejoiceth in the truth" (συνχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) in 1 Cor. 13:6.
  
 
[[Category:Philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
 
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
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[[Category:Dictionary]]

Latest revision as of 01:00, June 20, 2026

A Venn diagram picturing the traditional definition of knowledge as justified true belief (That is represented by the yellow circle).

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see Truth (logic).

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32.

Truth is one of the fundamental building blocks of reality. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely God himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the triune God, proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

Conservatives value truth, and wish to seek it.

Truth as a Value

Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it is the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as deceit or corruption. Christians in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the Bible, and Jesus himself. As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth (in the absolute sense) to be an important value. They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see moral relativism or nihilism, also phenomenology and epistemology.

Importance of truth

Opponents

Many opponents of truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as Communist China, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, and The Obama Administration, and, by extension, Barack Hussein Obama. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of censorship. Incidentally, many liberals also advocate the use of censorship in the form of political correctness, e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are, out of some misguided notion of politeness. Former Vice President and notorious liberal Al Gore made several untruthful claims in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Many liberals mock Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" (a creation of liberal talk show host and "comedian" Stephen Colbert) to deride the real nature of truth.

Liberals don't understand truth on a very basic level. They assume that truth is something intrinsic to the Universe, but in fact, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no truth. Without truth, there is no morality. Without morality, you can do whatever you want. This is the basis of Liberalism and it explains why Liberals feel the desire to mock truth.

Leo Tolstoy on lying to oneself and its consequences on one's ability to discern truth


“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky

See also

Essay:

External links

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