09/02/2021

Truth and Knowledge

Methods of  Truth lies at the heart of any

inquiry. It is a fact that has been
Philosophizing verified.
 Knowledge is simple data that
comes from the outside that pass
to our senses. It must be truthful
to gain validity and acceptance.

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Propositions
 Philosophers consider truth as a
kind of quality or value.
 Propositions are statements
about the world or reality which
may or may not carry truth.
What are some of the related words or ideas that
you can think of in relation to the word that you
chose.

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What is truth and why is it important?
 Knowledge is the clear awareness and
understanding of something. It is the
product of questions that allow for clear
answers provided by facts.
 What we know is what is observable or
evident in the real world.
 Propositions which are observed to be
real or truthful are considered FACTS.
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There are statements, however, that are
not evidently or immediately known to
be true and they are called CLAIMS.
They require further examination to
establish whether it is true or false.
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How do we know if something is
true?
 Philosophers emphasize the
importance of belief as a basis for
determining truth.
 We assume that everything we know
about this world is true but philosophers
who pondered upon the origins of
knowledge doubted everything that
there is to know about themselves and
the world. In doing so, they were able
to better understand the means by
which humans gain knowledge and
determine the truth about everything.
 It is said that there are instances when we
have to unlearn something so that we may
learn anew. Philosophers questioned what
they knew and even analyzed their methods of
knowing in order to understand themselves
and the world much better.
 Doubt has a very important purpose in
philosophy as it drives our desire to discover
truth. Nothing is taken as true unless there is
sufficient reaso n and evidence to prove that it
I am alive.
i sindeed true. Am I alive? I am alive.
Do I have a
I have a body. I have a body.
body?
I can breathe. Can I breathe? I can breathe.
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How can philosophy guide us in

Something is true if… distinguishing truth from opinion?
1. It can be justified or proven through  Opinions are comprised of
statements which not only give facts
the use of one’s senses. but also provide conclusions or
2. It is based on facts. perspectives regarding certain
3. It is a product of agreement or situations. They may advance a belief
about certain things or provide
consensus. explanations.
4. It can be applied in real life (tested  Opinions are also the bases for
and verified) making arguments and convincing
people that a certain claim is a fact.
They are often influenced by bias.

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 Beliefs are statements that

Let us Analyze…
1. It takes me 30 minutes to walk from my home
to school.
2. Living near the school is better because we
don’t have to spend much for transportation.
3. My sister ate the last piece of pizza.
4. My sister is a selfish person because she ate
the last piece and didn’t share it with me.
5. The police firmly pushed the suspect to his
kneed and placed him in handcuffs.
6. The aggressive manner by which the police
arrested the suspect is an example of brutality
that characterizes our police force.
express convictions that are not
easily and clearly explained by
facts. To judge the truthfulness of a
belief, we must also consider
things such as the person’s
experiences and views.
 Explanations are statements that
assume the claim to be true and
provide reasons why the statement
is true.

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FALLACY CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE

 Arguments are a series of statements Dicto Simpliciter argument based on an

unqualified generalization
Exercise is good. Therefore
everybody should exercise.
that provide reasons to convince the Fallacy of Assuming that what is true Each brick in that building
Composition of a part is true for the weighs less than a pound.
reader or listener that a claim or opinion whole Therefore, the building weighs
is truthful. less than a pound.
Fallacy of Division Assuming that what is true You come from a family of
 They often take the form of statements for the whole is true for its doctors and lawyers! Surely,
parts you can do better in this course!
that are either claims of facts and are Hasty The generalization is You can't speak French. I can’t
phrased in such a way that they seem Generalization reached too hastily. There
are too few instances or
speak French. Carla can't
speak French; therefore,
reasonable. evidences to support such nobody in this school can speak
a conclusion. French.
 Fallacies are arguments based on Petitio Principii Assuming that the thing or God exists because the bible
(begging the idea to be proven is true says so. … Why we can trust
faulty reasoning. Some of them are question) (circular reasoning) what the Bible says? Easy, the
intentional, as the person making the Bible is the word of God.
Post Hoc Assuming a ‘cause-and- Every time you wear your red
claim is desperate to convince you to (false cause) effect’ relationship scarf, you cry. You should get
between unrelated events rid of it.

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FALLACY CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE

Ad hominem Attacking the person Of course he believes that the Biases are the personal views of the
instead of the argument government is flawed, he is a
itself rebel and a Communist. person presenting it. They are not
Ad baculum Using the threat of force or If you do not agree with my necessarily errors in reasoning, but
(appeal to force) an undesirable event to
advance an argument
political opinions, you will
receive flat 70 on your card.
refer to tendencies or influences which
Ad misericordiam Using emotions such as You cant fire me, I have a wife affect the views of people.
(appeal to pity) pity and sympathy and 12 kids who will go hungry
if I lose this job. BIAS CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE
Ad populum The idea is presented as Every boy your age already has Correspondence Tendency to judge a The soldiers who fought in
(appeal to majority acceptable because a lot a girlfriend, you should go find bias person’s personality by the war are all bloodthirsty
or bandwagon) of people accept it one! (Fundamental his/her actions without murderers.
Ad antiquitatem The idea is acceptable Marriage has traditionally been attribution error) regard for external factors
(appeal to because it has been true between a man and a woman; or situations
tradition) for a long time therefore, gay marriage should Confirmation bias the tendency to look for How can I accept his view
not be allowed. and accept information in a that there is no God? I am a
Ad verecundiam ‘misusing’ an authority 4 out of 5 dentists agree that way that confirms one's Christian!
brushing your teeth makes your own beliefs and reject
life meaningful. ideas that go against it

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BIAS CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE

Conflict of interest A person or group is As the daughter of the

connected to or has a accused, I believe that I have
vested interest in the issue the right to express my opinion
on the issue of his alleged
corrupt practices.
Cultural bias Analyzing an event or I do not agree with this
issue based on one’s Western practice of placing the
cultural standards elderly in retirement homes.
We Filipinos take care of our
family members.
Framing Focusing on a certain Preliminary evidence has still
aspect of a problem while not pointed out the actual
ignoring other aspects cause of the plane crash, but
investigators are currently
focusing on the possibility of
pilot error.
Hindsight Is when, after an event When you put a glass on the
(knew-it-all-along occurs, we feel we already edge of a table and you start
phenomenon) knew what was going to cleaning and bumped the glass
happen and it fell to the ground and

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