How do you discern truth? What methods do you use?

Question

Do you use logic, empirical observation, intuition, authority or some other method? Elaborate as much as you see fit, and don't hesitate to share just what you think each of these methods means to you.

Answer 1

Three sorts of truth: - semantic (e.g., a cygnet is a baby swan), logical (e.g., if a and b, then a), contingent (e.g., the planet Earth has just one moon).

Three determinants of contingent truth: - a true proposition maps the way the world is, a true proposition coheres with (does not contradict, lends evidential support to ) other true propositions, a true proposition is one that 'works' (leads to success) if believed.

Three methods to contingent truth:

1. Analogy (if A and B have x in common then they may also have y in common) - a method that doesn't always work.

2. Hypothesis , deduction, and falsification (make a guess at the answer to a problem, deduce from that guess what will *not* be observable if it is true, try to prove the quess wrong by looking to make those observations, and accept the guess as true only so long as it cannot be shown to be false) - a method that is not beyond criticism.

3. Induction. Form general principles (laws of nature) out of particular observations that can be made repeatedly and invariably - another method that doesn't always work.

But these are the best methods we have, so far.

Answer 2

I'm kind of with Gurdjeff. But if he settled there he'd be as bad as anyone.
For pleasure I like to use intuition ,reading and hearing the ideas of others ,simple logic ,loads of observation and most importantly- doubt.
For the central thrust of my life , i use mainly silent observation and Doubt again. Primarily the doubt that thought can get anywhere beyond thought. However ,experience seems to imply that this can lead to a rather empty place, emotionally as well as inspirationally. So ,prehaps it's as well to apply energy in the form of intention. and in this way accept that the creative side of truth lies in us too. Where is the seperate being that can observe truth, and what truth ,not including oneself is worth investing in ?

Answer 3

Wisdom is the author of all truth. Wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit which has been here before the earth was formed. All search for truth, will lead to God, the author of wisdom. We are mind, body and spirit. To be in balance of all three, is the beginning of the fear of the Lord, which will bring wisdom, and knowledge into your life. Knowledge is just the collection of facts and information, but wisdom is knowing how to use it, and put it to work for mankind.

Answer 4

The Bible and God's laws guide me. Without a clear standard, truth is elusive at best. I think logic is great, but it only goes so far. The wonderful thing about God is that He never fails. He knows everything! And if His Spirit lives inside you, He tells you what you need to know concerning truth.

Answer 5

Here is an outline to your assigned paper:

Abstract: The traditional theories of truth are introduced and discussed. Their advantages and disadvantages are noted, and a composite of the correspondence and coherence theories is adopted.

Upon what can we base truth? Subjective methods (such as intuition, revelation, and instinct) are often used; however, these criteria have obvious defects and will not be considered here.

I. Authority: the opinion of those with special ability or knowledge of a field.

A. Advantages:

1. Authorities are respected in courts of law, in government, in scientific circles, and the schoolroom.

2. Authorities are relied upon because highly trained, knowledgeable, talented and successful persons should be able to render valuable opinions in their fields.

B. Disadvantages:

1. ad Verecundiam: the fallacy arising from relying upon an authority outside his field of expertise.

2. Authorities in the same field sometimes contradict each other on the main points.

3. Even if an authority is right, we still need to ask why that person is correct in order to have knowledge.

4. The opinions of authorities change from time to time, but truth should not change over place and time.

II. Consensus Gentium: if there is a unanimous opinion on a particular belief, it is considered to be true. (Related criteria are majority rule, custom, and public opinion.)

A. Advantages:

1. It's democratic--everyone gets a "fair" chance to determine the truth.

2. It's a practical way to decide pressing issues quickly.

B. Disadvantages:

1. ad Populum: the fallacy arising from the belief that simply from the fact many people believe something is true, it must be true.

2. In general, the majority is unreflective and easily swayed by passion and prejudice.

3. Even if the majority is correct, we still need to ask why the statement is true in order to have knowledge.

4. The opinion of the majority changes from time to time, but truth should not change over time.

5. In practical matters, there can be a tyranny of the majority.

III. Legality: whatever is legal is moral.

A. Advantages:

1. The laws are both comprehensive and specific--more so than any set of behavioral rules.

2. The court system can decide difficult applications of principles.

B. Disadvantages:

1. Law and morality are not coextensive. (Not all laws are good or moral.)

2. Laws differ from place to place, time to time.

3. Many laws are vague--the law suffers from "open texture."

IV. The traditional theories of truth:

A. Pragmatism: the criterion that tests beliefs by their results when put into operation, a criterion supported by Peirce, James, and Dewey.

1. A statement is thought to be true insofar as it works or satisfies or fulfills its function.

2. Working or satisfying or functioning is described differently by different people. One attends to the practical consequences of ideas.

3. Peirce wrote, "In order to ascertain the meaning of an intellectual conception, one should consider what practical consequences might conceivably result by necessity from the truth of that conception; and the sum of these consequences will constitute the entire meaning of the expression."

4. The pragmatists reduced the notion of being truth to that of being accepted as true or even to that of being tested for truth.

B. Correspondence Theory of Truth: this criterion claims that an idea that accords with its object must be true. In other words, a statement is true, if it expresses what is the case.

1. To say that something is true is to say that there is a correspondence between it and a fact.

2. For example, "It is raining here, now" is true if it is the case that it is raining here now; otherwise it is false.

3. The nature of the relation of correspondence between a fact and a true proposition is described differently by different writers.

The controversial features are due mainly to the different interoperations of the key words, "fact" and "statement."

4. One main difficulty is finding what corresponds to a false statement or a nonreferring statement such as "The present king of France is bald."

C. Coherence theory of truth: this criterion is used to ascertain whether the individual statements that comprise a belief are rationally and consistently interrelated. (A criterion used by Leibniz and Spinoza, and Bradley).

1. To say that what is said is true or false is to say that what is said is consistent with or is not consistent with a system of other things which are said.

A statement is true if it is a part of a system of statements each of which are related to each other by logical implication (e.g., Euclid's geometry).

2. Hence a statement is true insofar as it is a necessary part of a systematically coherent set of statements. Thus, truth is a property of an extensive body of consistent propositions.

3. An unusual feature is the doctrine of the degrees of truth: if the truth of an given statement is bound up with, and can only be seen with the truth of all the statements in the system, individual statements as such are only partly true--only the whole system is said to be true.


Consider, for example, the truth of the statement, "The earth is round."

V. What criteria of truth will we used in this course?

A. We will use a composite of the coherence and the correspondence theories of truth. Generally speaking, the process goes as follows.

B. When we use reason to establish the truth or a statement, we need to argue from true premisses.

1. The premisses of our arguments can be established as true either by the coherence theory (they follow from other true statements) or the correspondence theory (they follow from our knowledge of states of affairs in the world)

2. The conclusions of our arguments then can be established from the rules of logic (the implementation of the coherence theory).

Answer 6

Truth is relative. The question is can you handle the truth? I personally believe that we are basically weeds, and that on occasion one of us does something that the rest of profit from. Can you handle that view?.

Answer 7

Truth and beauty are both prisons into which those too weak to transcend them are thrown.

Answer 8

i descern truth based and through my own experience (method)

Answer 9

I know everything.

Answer 10

coherence