Defining The Truth: A Variety Of Interpretations

In his Metaphysics, Aristotle stated: ‘To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true’.

If we are to propose a question: ‘What is truth?’ in any encirclement, most as surely, such question would spark an interesting conversation. From the beginning to the present, all human interpretations of the universe and human in it show that truth is completely elusive, always different, subject to all sorts of retouches, orally spoken in a leap of inspiration, written in thick encyclopedia, or, today, imprinted on hard drives by sophisticated machines that are metaphorically known as the electronic brain. If we know what is truth, how do we know that what we know is true? It just goes in circles thus becoming nothing more than a paradox. Don’t you agree? For some people, truth is relative while for others it is rather absolute. For me the truth is an unknown. It differentiates due to the humanly contrasting opinions. The Correspondence Theory argues that “truth” is whatever corresponds to reality. An idea which corresponds with reality is true, while an idea which does not correspond with reality is false. Perhaps the second most popular theory is The Coherence Theory; a belief is true when we are able to incorporate it in an orderly and logical manner into a larger and complex system of beliefs without creating a contradiction. Believing in truth and being sure of the truth is not the same thing. If we were to be able to arrive at the whole truth, rightly argued by Stephen Hawking in the Short History of Time , then over time, it should be accepted by all, and that would be the supreme triumph of human reason, for it would penetrate into the very mind of God. One must wonder; does the truth depend from whose mouth she has been soaked with saliva? Or she does not need the man, she does not need to be told, she is in him, in everything around him, and she lives?

Couple weeks ago, a friend and I were discussing about mathematics from a philosophical aspect. As an example; say there are two entirely different opinions that are true, based on the same foundation. As they progress and develop, the inventors disagree on the process, yet both opinions came to an answer that is true for the given problem. How do we know if one is truer in comparison to the other? Their mutual point would be the foundation that they were established on, the core that they have in common. Truth then would sound like as saying that for given or desired goal, more suitable opinion would represent truth. Despite that both opinions are true in their own way, the one that leads to a certain goal would be true. Truth could be explained as a general sense, driven by human logic in strive for conclusion. Nothing will be true except in so far as it is understood. I would even dare to say that truth is a center of our existence. As if an invisible sensation of security comes from the word ‘truth’, a word that alleviates pressuring doubts that we might hold on certain subject. During the course of life, we keep listening to truths and lies, collecting them, until we are able to tell our own version of truth. Different truths live in us and our truths are different. The fact is that every person perceives things in a different way, but it is also a fact that there is a general moral law in every person. And in this I agree with Socrates, who says that man is determined not only by perception, but above all by mind; not just the urge, but also a sense of duty and moral awareness and conscience. Inside of each one of us there are chambers where we purify conscience with truth and where we learn virtues. We must be aware that our personal truth is not the only one among all the other truths. According to Plato, some people are researching either what they know or what they do not know. If they know, that is, if they think they know, then it is not necessary for them to research. But if they think they do not know, that is, that they think they do not know, they do not know what they are researching or looking for. We always seem to know something, but what is it that we know? ‘All I know is that I know nothing.” Socrates.