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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #47374a; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#47374a"><b>Thinking hardly<br />or hardly thinking?</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Philosophy</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#f8feff;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophy" title="Category:Philosophy"><img alt="Icon philosophy.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/100px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/150px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/200px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>Major trains of thought</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">Logic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">Morality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">Reality</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>The good, the bad,<br />and the brain fart</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_room" title="Chinese room">Chinese room</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cognitive_science" title="Cognitive science">Cognitive science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Materialism" title="Materialism">Materialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Effective_altruism" title="Effective altruism">Effective altruism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intellectual_honesty" title="Intellectual honesty">Intellectual honesty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Systems_thinking" title="Systems thinking">Systems thinking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Skepticism" title="Skepticism">Skepticism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Daniel_Paul_Harris" title="Daniel Paul Harris">Daniel Paul Harris</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>Come to think of it</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">Science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_science" title="Philosophy of science">Philosophy of science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethics" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethics">Ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">Psychology</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Philosophy" title="Template:Philosophy">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Philosophy" title="Template talk:Philosophy">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Philosophy&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Truth</b> is a concept that is easy to recognize by <a href="/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">common sense</a> but extremely difficult to define. It is the subject of great controversy in <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>, specifically because "it is true that a certain definition of <i>truth</i> is accurate" is a self-referential statement. </p><p>The common-sense understanding of "truth" is captured by this quote from <a href="/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>: "If I say of what is that it is, I speak the truth." Thus, in this sense, truth bears a close correspondence to <a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">reality</a> (although many <a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophers" title="Category:Philosophers">philosophers</a> differ, as is their wont). </p><p>Truth is largely independent of ideology, but <a href="/wiki/Partisan" title="Partisan">partisans</a> seem to be more reluctant to speak it when it conflicts with their ideology, and also <a href="/wiki/Confirmation_bias" title="Confirmation bias">speak it with much more enthusiasm if it supports their ideology</a>. </p><p>Ideas which work consistently can be used to make <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">correct predictions</a>, and we say they are true. The truth of an assertion does not rest on the asserter's goodness, but it is incumbent upon the asserter to make his case, not the <a href="/wiki/Skeptic" class="mw-redirect" title="Skeptic">skeptic</a> to <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">falsify</a> the case. If the asserter tries to <a href="/wiki/Begging_the_question" class="mw-redirect" title="Begging the question">use his desired outcome as a premise</a>, he hasn't made his case. </p><p>The individual prestige or infamy of a given person who believed a given thing doesn't have any effect on its truth or falsity (<a href="/wiki/Argument_from_authority" title="Argument from authority">Argument from authority</a>). It is not valid to plead, "<a href="/wiki/Albert_Einstein" title="Albert Einstein">Einstein</a> was a genius and he believed in <a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a>" as an argument for the true existence of a god. </p><p>It is important not to confuse truth (something that is true) with The Truth™ (something that the <a href="/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Bible</a> and <a href="/wiki/Koran" class="mw-redirect" title="Koran">Koran</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads" class="extiw" title="wp:Upanishads" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Upanishads">Upanishads</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> and other <a href="/wiki/Holy_book" title="Holy book">holy books</a> say they are) or <a href="/wiki/Post-truth" title="Post-truth">post-truth</a> (<a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> <a href="/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">politics</a> that are just <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_emotion" title="Appeal to emotion">appeals to emotion</a> and various other <a href="/wiki/Logical_fallacy" title="Logical fallacy">logical fallacies</a>). </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Philosophical_theories_of_truth"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Philosophical theories of truth</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Role_in_logic"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Role in logic</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Loaded_language"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Loaded language</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Quotes"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Quotes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Philosophical_theories_of_truth">Philosophical theories of truth</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Philosophical theories of truth">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><b>Correspondence theory</b>: A <i>true</i> statement is one that is in accordance with <a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">reality</a>. This tradition follows Aristotle's definition, is still the most widely accepted by far, and an important <a href="/wiki/Epistemology" class="mw-redirect" title="Epistemology">epistemic</a> foundation of the <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">scientific method</a>.</li> <li><b>Coherence theory</b>: A statement is considered true if it is logically consistent with an already established system of other statements. Another, stricter version of this theory only accepts statements as true that are logically deduced from (or "entailed" by) an existing set of propositions.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup> This approach is most prominently employed in <a href="/wiki/Mathematics" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, and used to be favored by some 20th century philosophers of science.</li> <li><b>Constructivist theory</b>: Truth itself is seen as a true social construct, and therefore contingent upon tradition, convention and perception. This approach is usually favored by relativists who like to deny that there could possibly be any "true" system or method of deriving objective truths. Moderate constructivists hold that while objective knowledge is possible and there most likely is a shared truth, individually diverging perceptions of truth are of greater importance for how people interact with each other and the world.</li> <li><b>Consensus theory</b>: The truth is whatever is agreed upon, or at least whatever would be agreed upon as the result of a truly free, rational discourse. This variant was strongly promoted by Jürgen Habermas in the 1970s, who seems to have given up on it nowadays.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> Except for sounding like <a href="/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum" title="Argumentum ad populum">a certain fallacy</a>, the group of people who are allowed to settle the debate over some issues would necessarily have to be restricted to a much narrower one, since there are only few people who are truly informed enough about complex topics to participate in such discourse. The consensus theory does not provide a satisfying solution for situations in which expert opinion (a.k.a. "<a href="/wiki/Scientific_consensus" title="Scientific consensus">Scientific consensus</a>") has reached a consensus, but one that is truly different from opinions within society at large.</li> <li><b>Pragmatic theory</b>: This variant was introduced by the American pragmatist school, and most notably held by Charles Peirce and William James. In a nutshell, truth is whatever works — if belief in a certain proposition has beneficial consequences, it can be considered true.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> "Beneficial consequences" are usually defined as anything that allows humans to navigate the world successfully — so for example, belief in one's ability to fly is false since it is harmful. This approach also shares common ground with the scientific method: Dewey's update on this theory consisted of defining "truth" as the end product of the process of scientific enquiry. For pragmatists, it does not matter all that much whether a highly abstract theory (like much of modern <a href="/wiki/Physics" title="Physics">physics</a>) actually represents a true picture of reality or whether it is just made up of useful assumptions and analogies, as long as its predictions are true.</li> <li><b>Deflationary theory</b>: Deflationists reject the idea that the word "truth" refers to a substantive property held by statements. They hold that there is no difference between the statements "Snow is white" and "It is true that snow is white," since they both hold <a href="/wiki/If_and_only_if" class="mw-redirect" title="If and only if">if and only if</a> snow is actually white. Other properties attributed to statements (such as peculiarity; e.g. "It is surprising that snow is white") do not have this property, which suggests it is not a true property at all. Deflationists generally do not deny that there are statements which actually describe the world, but hold that assigning the word "true" to them is equivalent to asserting them. <ul><li><b>Disquotationalism</b>: a position within deflationism which explains the nature of some statements attributing truth as functioning grammatically, not semantically. The sentence "Bob's statement is true" is interpreted by disquotationalists not as assigning the property "truth" to Bob's statement but simply as shorthand for accepting it; the word "true" is understood to be useful in that it allows us to reaffirm Bob's statement without repeating it word-for-word, in a truly grammatically acceptable manner.</li></ul></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Role_in_logic">Role in logic</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Role in logic">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Truth is a fundamental concept in <a href="/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">logic</a>, the branch of philosophy that deals with the formal correctness of arguments. Each sentence or construct in logic is usually assigned a "truth value" that represents, in various ways, whether the construct is "true." Arguments are a method of propagating truth values through the logical system; for example, in propositional logic, the <i>modus ponens</i> inference rule says that if the sentences "if <b>A</b> then <b>B</b>" and "<b>A</b>" are given the value of "true," then the sentence "<b>B</b>" must also be given the value of "true." </p><p>Different systems of logic are often classed according to the range of truth values a sentence can be assigned. Among the most popular are: </p> <ul><li>Binary logic: Each statement is either <i>true</i> (1) or <i>false</i> (0). Binary logics include the classical systems, propositional and first-order.</li> <li>Ternary logic: A statement can have one of three values, usually <i>true</i>, <i>false</i>, or <i>unknown/irrelevant</i>.</li> <li>Fuzzy logic: Truth values are continuous rather than discrete, being assigned a real number between 0 and 1. Such a truth value is not the same as a <a href="/wiki/Probability" title="Probability">probability</a>, which instead assigns a likelihood that a statement is 100% true; while probability says that "<b>A</b> has a 50% chance of being completely true," fuzzy logic says that "<b>A</b> is 50% true."</li></ul> <p>Logic is strictly a system of <i>propagation</i> for truth, working from assumptions that certain premises or axioms are true. Hence, in logic, the concept of truth is ignored and left to other branches of philosophy; the concept stays an empty shell, so to speak. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Loaded_language">Loaded language</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Loaded language">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In conspiracy circles, this word has a truly different meaning, that is much, much easier to define. It is basically anything that the <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theorist" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy theorist">conspiracy theorist</a> in question believes to be true, regardless of whether it is true or not. See the page on <a href="/wiki/Loaded_language" title="Loaded language">loaded language</a>. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Quotes">Quotes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Quotes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Truth and clarity are complementary.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Niels Bohr, referring to <a href="/wiki/Quantum_mechanics" title="Quantum mechanics">quantum mechanics</a><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Yes, <a href="/wiki/Argument_by_assertion" title="Argument by assertion">there <i>is</i> a Divinity</a>, one from which we must never turn aside for the guidance of our huge inward life and of the share we have as well in the life of all men. It is called the <a href="/wiki/Ipse_dixit" title="Ipse dixit">truth</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Henri Barbusse in <i>Under Fire</i></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>We may, by fixing our attention almost fiercely on the facts actually before us, force them to turn into adventures; force them to give up their meaning and fulfill their mysterious purpose.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—G. K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—misattributed to <a href="/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>The Truth is Silly Putty.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Paul Krassner</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tautology" title="Tautology">Tautology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Truthiness" title="Truthiness">Truthiness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Truth_table" title="Truth table">Truth table</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Truth&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth-coherence/">The Coherence Theory of Truth</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/habermas/#HabTheTruKno">Habermas's Theory of Truth and Knowledge</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">About Atheism: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://atheism.about.com/od/philosophyepistemology/a/Pragmatic.htm">Pragmatic Theory of Truth</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Quantum Theory and the Flight from Realism: Philosophical Responses to Quantum Mechanics</i> by Christopher Norris (2000) Routledge. ISBN 0415223210. p. 234.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Kim LaCapria (February 23, 2016) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.snopes.com/truth-carl-sagan-quote/">"Sagan It Like It Is"</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Truth&oldid=2631668">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Truth&oldid=2631668</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophy" title="Category:Philosophy">Philosophy</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden category: <ul><li><a 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