Difference between revisions of "Truth"

Latest revision as of 14:50, 7 February 2025

About

Truth is an attribute which may or may not apply to any given piece of information. It is one of the most basic concepts underlying rationality and the way we think about the world, and is hence rather difficult to define objectively.

There are several major types of "truth" (approximately progressing from best to worst):

objective: the never-perfectly-knowable objective reality; "actual truth"
evidenced: the best guess we can make at the actual truth from the evidence available
believed: what a person or group believes is true, whether or not supported by evidence
received: what a person or group is told to believe is true (which may or may not be what they believe)
broadcast: what a person or group broadcasts as truth (which may or may not be what they actually believe)
official: statements that an organization broadcasts about itself or its determinations of fact, but generally cohering to an overall narrative
imposed: beliefs which an organization seeks to require others to believe, through penalizing and suppressing dissenting statements and arguments

Usage

Unless otherwise qualified, Issuepedia's use of words like "truth", "facts", "reality", and "actual" refer to evidenced truth.

Related Pages

Epistemology is the study of truth; antiepistemology is the study of truth-hiding.
(The belief system article, short as it is, probably needs rethinking.)

Reference

Wikipedia:
- Truth
- Truth theory (or a theory of truth) is a conceptual framework that underlies a particular conception of truth, such as those used in art, ethics, logic, mathematics, philosophy, the sciences, or any discussion that either mentions or makes use of a notion of truth.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Truth

Blog Entries

2007-08-16 Truth - The Neglected Virtue by Robin Hanson

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Overview==
+<hide>
-[[Category:philosophical concepts]][[category:slippery words]][[Truth]] is an attribute which may or may not apply to any given piece of information. It is one of the most basic concepts underlying [[rationality]] and the way we think about the world, and is hence rather difficult to define objectively.
+[[page type::article]]
+[[thing type::concept]]
+[[category:philosophical concepts]]
+[[category:slippery words]]
+</hide>
+==About==
+[[Truth]] is an attribute which may or may not apply to any given piece of information. It is one of the most basic concepts underlying [[rationality]] and the way we think about the world, and is hence rather difficult to define objectively.
-In general, it is understood that there is an underlying [[reality]] to which we have no direct access, and whose effects we ultimately perceive through our [[senses]] and analyze through our ability to [[reason]]. (We may use [[tool]]s whose senses are keener than our own and whose analytical abilities surpass ours in some ways, but we ultimately understand their workings and receive their determinations via our own reason and senses.) Information is called "true" if we are reasonably certain that it accurately reflects that underlying reality.
+There are several major types of "truth" (approximately progressing from best to worst):
+* '''{{l/sub|objective}}''': the never-perfectly-knowable objective reality; "actual truth"
-Many groups of people, however, are of the opinion that our senses and reason are less trustworthy than certain writings in their possession; these writings are called [[scripture]], and the sets of [[belief]]s subscribed to by these groups are called [[religion]]s or [[faith]]s. There is ongoing conflict globally between such groups with differing sets of beliefs (due to different scriptures being followed) as well as between (on the one hand) groups who trust in scripture and (on the other) individuals who prefer to trust their own senses and reason; at its core, this conflict is essentially between [[authoritarianism]] and [[individualism]] (or at least [[non-authoritarianism]]); see [[reason vs. religion]].
+* '''{{l/sub|evidenced}}''': the best guess we can make at [[/objective|the actual truth]] from the [[evidence]] available
+* '''{{l/sub|believed}}''': what a person or group [[believe]]s is true, whether or not [[/evidenced|supported by evidence]]
+* '''{{l/sub|received}}''': what a person or group is told to believe is true (which may or may not be [[/believed|what they believe]])
+* '''{{l/sub|broadcast}}''': what a person or group broadcasts as truth (which may or may not be [[/believed|what they actually believe]])
+* '''{{l/sub|official}}''': statements that an organization {{l/sub|broadcast}}s about itself or its determinations of fact, but generally cohering to an overall [[narrative]]
+* '''{{l/sub|imposed}}''': beliefs which an organization seeks to ''require'' others to believe, through penalizing and suppressing dissenting statements and [[argument]]s
+===Usage===
+Unless otherwise qualified, Issuepedia's use of words like "truth", "facts", "reality", and "actual" refer to ''{{l/sub|evidenced}}'' truth.
 ==Related Pages==
-* [[Science]] is the active use of tools, together with techniques for minimizing the effects of our innate biases (see [[human nature]]), for gathering new [[truth]]s.
+* [[Epistemology]] is the study of truth; [[antiepistemology]] is the study of truth-hiding.
+* (The [[belief system]] article, short as it is, probably needs rethinking.)
 ==Reference==
 * Wikipedia:
-** [[wikipedia:Truth|Truth]]
+** {{l/wp|Truth}}
-** [[wikipedia:Truth theory|Truth theory]] (''or'' a theory of truth) is a conceptual framework that underlies a particular conception of truth, such as those used in art, ethics, logic, mathematics, philosophy, the sciences, or any discussion that either mentions or makes use of a notion of truth.
+** {{l/wp|Truth theory}} (''or'' a theory of truth) is a conceptual framework that underlies a particular conception of truth, such as those used in art, ethics, logic, mathematics, philosophy, the sciences, or any discussion that either mentions or makes use of a notion of truth.
-** [[wikipedia:Epistemology|Epistemology]] or the theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge. Much of the debate in this field has focused on analyzing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions such as [[truth]] and belief.
+* Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth/ Truth]
 ==Blog Entries==
 * '''2007-08-16''' [http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/08/truth---the-neg.html Truth - The Neglected Virtue] by Robin Hanson