TRUTH

ETHICAL TRUTH

• The matter of ethical rule

• Ethical truth is attributed to the speaker

Function:

• Does not pay attention to the reality

• But we pay attention to the correspondence between the speaker’s statement and his mind.

• The matter of logical rule

• Logical truth is the attribute of proposition

Function

• We pay attention to reality

• The focus is the correspondence between the statement and the reality

LOGICAL TRUTH

(truth from the sense of subjective component of knowledge) (truth from the sense of objective component of knowledge)

BLUE PENBLUE PEN

That is a black pen

Blind color eyes

Ethically he right, he does

not lie

Logically he wrong, his

proposition does not correspond to

the reality

ETHICAL TRUTH & LOGICAL TRUTH

Ptolemy(85-126):

Geocentric universe

TRUTH

For example : in the middle age, Earth is the center of universe

Was believed

Was justified

But it is not knowledge, since it is not the truth

Two things concerning truth that always be mixed or confused to each another

• The Essence of Truth

• The method/ way coming to the truth

• The Essence of Truth • The method/ way coming to the truth

Deals with the questions, such as:• What is the nature of truth?• What is the reality of the truth?• What is the meaning of truth?• What is truth?

Deals with the questions, such as:• How can we come to the conclusion

that a proposition is true?• How can we know something is true?• What is the criteria that a proposition is

true?

For example

If true is the correspondence to reality

How we know that a proposition corresponds to reality?

Many philosophers

confuse

• Historically, the most popular theory of truth was the Correspondence Theory.

• for any proposition p, p is true if and only if p corresponds to a fact.

• First proposed in a vague form by Plato and by Aristotle in his Metaphysics,

• No other theories than the correspondence theory until the last of 19 C

The Essence of Truth“What is truth?”

• It is begun under the influence of Hegel and Kant at first, another theories were built

• After 19 C, at least there are 3 theories of truth remain

The Correspondence Theory of Truth

For any proposition p, p is true if and only if p corresponds to a fact / reality.

In knowledge we have :

• Proposition • Reality We have knowledge of reality through proposition

So, the truth here means

• Proposition • Reality

There is correspondence between :

So, knowledge in this theory knowledge by mediation i.e. through proposition

The Correspondence Theory of Truth

There are 3 axioms in this theory :

• There is reality outside mind

• We are able to know that external reality

• Our knowledge to the external reality is knowledge reality as it is

Or not a phenomenological knowledge / knowledge as what phenomenon occurs is in one’s perception There is no objection

concerning this until Hegel and Kant

Hegel

Kant

Believed in identity between mind and reality

We just able to know phenomena, not noumena (reality as it is)

Phenomena = noumena + influence of mind

Under the influence of both philosophers, objections arise

Theory of truth is not Correspondence theory

Objections

Truth : corresponding between • Proposition

• And Reality

• Hence, it means we know just proposition, and not reality

• When we know reality, it is indirectly, by mediation, that is proposition

• Hence we know reality through proposition

Hence, we cannot see 2 things: Proposition and Reality, then see whether or not there is corresponding between them

Since we just know proposition

But this objection is not correct, since it is mixing between ESSENCE of truth and CRITERIA of TRUTH

Since we just know proposition

For example:

Ahmad : “gold is a metal of which atomic number is 90

Dahlan : “It is not true that gold is a metal of which chemical number is 90”

Why ?

“Since we cannot recognize which metal atomic number is 90”

Ahmad spoke about the essence of Gold

Dahlan objection is due to the criteria of knowing the atomic number of gold

Dahlan’s objection is not correct since he make confusedness between essence of a thing and criteria of coming to the knowledge of that thing

Objections

Truth =

Proposition Reality

What is the bridge that corresponds the

proposition to the reality?

By another proposition?

By another proposition?

Lead to an Infinite Regress

Corresponds to

But this objection is not correct, since it is mixing between ESSENCE of truth and CRITERIA of TRUTH

Objections

Liar Paradox

Epimenides (600 BC)The Epimenides paradox is a problem in logic. It is named after the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos (alive circa 600 BC).

Epimenides was a Cretan who made one immortal statement:

"ALL CRETANS ARE LIARS."

Another example:

"ALL WHAT I SAY ARE LIE."

ObjectionsObjection:

“The concept of Correspondence is not clarified”

If truth :Proposition Reality

Corresponds to

• Hence we know reality through proposition• It means, it assumes between proposition and reality there must be the

same identity• But, it is impossible, since proposition is a thing and reality it refers another

different thing. Proposition and reality is not identical at all.• So, in this sense proposition cannot correspond to reality, since they are not

identical to each another.

Both are Identical ? Similar?

How can it be?

If truth :Proposition Reality

Corresponds to

Both are Identical ? Similar?

How can it be?

Another option : there is similarity between both proposition and reality

Similarity between 2 things, means both things have:

• Aspect of similarities• Aspect of differences

it is the same just to same extent, to some grades

• GRADUATEDBut truth is not graduated

• A proposition that : “A is B”Can be true or false

It cannot be between true and false