INTELLECTUAL TRUTH
In the course of human development, once the idea of truth enters our thoughts, something new begins to happen. The idea of truth introduces us to an awe inspiring intellectual majesty that has the power to move even the hardest heart. Once we get a glimmer of what truth really means, we can never be the same again. It is not necessary to engage in critical philosophy in order to be moved by the notion of truth. In developing a definition of truth, it helps to understand that: when we talk about truth as an idea, we refer to a different kind of mental act than when we talk about distinctions between true and false. Truth is a concept we abstract from personal experience with true-false propositions. It is a high order abstraction we make and comprehended in the standard manner of abstracting concepts.
Things and words are called true in independent and participative sense, deriving from the mind's truth; whereas intellectual truth is the proper perfection of the mind, toward which the mind is directed of its very nature. We abstract the idea truth in much the same way we abstract any concept. First we have experience with true propositions. We probably notice them by contrasting them to false propositions. At a point in our thinking, we detect that true propositions have something in common, that is: all true propositions are true. Many people go through the same process. The natural rational response is to give this common experience a name so we can talk about it. We abstract and symbolize the idea of intellectual truth in much the same way as we abstract all ideas. However, the truth has implications far exceeding most every other idea. The intellectual truth has an inherent importance that raises it to a plane of value at the apex of our rational experience. It is a plus tenet that: the idea of truth is the corner stone of philosophy. Understanding fundamentals about truth is necessary to developing a critical appreciation of our intellectual talents and to critically discover the guidelines of sound rational thinking. Intellectual truth is essential to knowledge. If there were no truth we would have no knowledge.
Intellectual truth is a high order abstraction that has a special place in the world of abstractions. Measured by significance in practical human affairs, it is the apex of all abstractions. Being able to make true judgments and to rationally apply our knowledge to the way we live is a defining element in our existence as human beings. Because truth is so fundamental in human affairs it follows that: mistakes made in our understanding of truth have more far reaching consequences than mistakes in the understanding almost any other idea. For example a mistake in the understanding of discipline can have painful consequences for particular individuals when the idea of discipline is misused. The misuse of discipline however is an instance of the misuse of truth. Truth is a broader generalization than the idea discipline. Truth has a distinct application to all propositions involving the idea discipline whereas the idea discipline does not apply to all that is involved in the idea truth.
Source: www.plusroot.com/dbook/.html
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