DETERMINING THE TRUTH

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
-Marcus Aurelius

*DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TRUTH/FACT AND THE OPINION/BELIEF

A.) TRUTH- is something true regards of what we believe
B.) FACT- is a statement that is true and can be verified objectively, or proven. In other words, a fact is
true and correct no matter what.
C.) OPINION- is a belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge
or proof.
D.) BELIEF- is a state or habit of mind in which trust of confidence is placed on some person or thing.
Something is accepted, considered to be true, or held as an opinion.

WHAT IS TRUTH?
*The quality or state of being true. A fact or belief that is accepted as true.
* Philosophers agree that there is no absolute measure of truth.
*However, various views which can help us tackle the concept of knowing the truth, arrive at a
reasonable assessment if the statement, idea, or event is believable.

How Do We Use Philosophy To Figure Out What IS True?

*rooted from the ancient Greek philosophical concept known as “justified, true belief”
*There is justification for such belief.
*Can be justified by using one’s perception and senses or appealing to authority or using reasoning.

THEORIES ON THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH

1.) CORRESPONDENCE THEORY- something is true if it corresponds to reality or the actual state
of affairs.
- Assumes the direct relationship between an idea and reality to be
able to take a statement as fact.
2.) COHERENCE THEORY- something is true if it makes sense when placed in a certain situation
or context.
- There is a possibility that there will be varied truths from different
perspectives.
3.) CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY- holds that knowledge is shaped by culture and history.
- Also believes that knowledge is gained as part of social experience
and requires interaction and collaboration.
4.) CONSENSUS THEORY- views knowledge as based on agreement and that something is true if
almost everyone agrees that it is.
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Also used to determine the truth of scientific claims where experts
must agree on certain phenomena before it can be established as
truth.
5.) PRAGMATIC THEORY- something is true when we can use it in practice or is useful in life.
*VERIFICATIONISM- ideas must be verified using senses and experience.
* SCIENTIFIC METHOD- designed to test hypotheses or confirm conclusions.
“A pragmatist is concerned with the results, not reality.”
-J. Robert Oppenheimer

OTHER THINGS WE SHOULD CONSIDER IN DETERMINING THE TRUTH

-ideas and claims are often presented in the form of arguments. And these arguments are phrased in
such a way that they seem reasonable.
*FALLACIES- errors in reasoning, as a person making claim is desperate to convince you to accept their
argument.
(TYPES OF FALLACIES)
1.) Ad hominem- attacking the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.
2.) Appeal To Force- using threat or force or an undesirable event to advance an argument.
3.) Appeal To Emotion- using emotions such as pity or sympathy.
4.) Appeal To The Popular- the idea presented is acceptable because a lot of people accept it.
5.) Appeal To Tradition- the idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time.
6.) Begging The Question- assuming the thing or idea is true(circular argument)
7.) Cause-and-Effect- assuming a “cause-and-effect” relationship between unrelated events.
8.) Fallacy of Composition- assuming that what is true for the part is true for the whole.
9.) Fallacy of Division- assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts.
*BIASES- are personal views of the person presenting it. These are not errors in reasoning but refer to
tendencies or influences which affect the views of people.
(TYPES OF BIASES)
1.) Correspondence Bias or Attribution Effect- judging without regard to external factors
2.) Confirmation Bias- tendency to look for ideas that are accepted with one’s belief with no regard
to the ones who are against is.
3.) Framing- focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring the others.
4.) Hindsight- tendency to see past events as predictable.
5.) Conflict of Interest- a person or group has an interest on the issue being discussed
6.) Cultural Bias- analyzing an issue based on ones cultural standard.