TRUTH- JIJO FRANCIS, 0924603

TRUTH

Truth can have a variety of meanings. The well-known dictum is that, truth consists in an "agreement" or "correspondence" of thought with its object. The states of being in accord with a particular fact or reality, or being in accord with the body of real things, real events or actualities are also considered as truth. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common archaic usage, it also meant consistency or sincerity in action or character. The direct opposite of truth is "falsehood", which can correspondingly take logical, factual or ethical meanings. Various theories and views of truth continue to be debated among scholars and philosophers. There are mainly two kinds of knowledge is possible.

1. A Priori Knowledge From Latin meaning literally "from what comes before", a priori knowledge is characterized by its independent relationship from experience, which includes, but is not limited to, innate knowledge. This type of knowledge is arrived at through thought and reason alone. Common examples include: 'All bachelors are unmarried men' and 'All triangles have three sides'. In both of these statements, you need not refer to any particular experiences to determine whether you know the statements are true--they are true by virtue of their meaning, an assessment that was arrived at through reason. A priori knowledge is philosophically linked to analytic thought mostly through the works of Kant, and later Quine. Analytic propositions are true by their meaning alone and do not rely on any fact about the world. The concept of necessary truth is also linked to a priori knowledge because the negation of a priori statements produces a contradiction on the basis of their meaning alone, which remains constant regardless of how the world may happen to be. A priori knowledge, for the sake of simplification, is therefore always true or false.

2. A Posteriori Knowledge From Latin meaning literally "from what comes after", a posteriori knowledge is characterized by its dependence on both reason and experience. Common examples include: 'That bachelor is tall' and 'That triangle is red'. The truth or falsity of these statements cannot be determined without observing the actual, real-world state of the bachelor and the triangle. Of course, one must use reason to understand the correspondence of the meaning of bachelor and triangle to the things observed, but the essential meaning of the statements is not contingent upon this relationship. Like a priori is linked to analytic thought, a posteriori is linked to synthetic thought, in which truth is characterized by its meaning but also by the state of relevant facts about the world. Contingent truth is therefore also linked to a posteriori knowledge because the truth of the statement is dependent upon what the world is like, and this world need not be any particular way at all.

Epistemological concerns with truth are extensive to say the least. Generally, they can be characterized by their interrogation of what it means to know something is true, what sorts of things can be true, and what truth is. These questions are generally addressed by seeking the answer to one in order to explain the other. There are several theories that set out to determine what truth is by answering what sorts of things can be true and what knowing this truth means. The majority of these theories have enjoyed more extensive development in the twentieth century, but the Correspondence Theory of Truth attributes its development in the thoughts of Plato and Aristotle and both addresses and responds to key ideas about truth: justification and belief.