OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY

Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

Session 7: Veritas

I. Introduction

TRUTH. This is maybe one of the words that people tend to claim they have. They would tell you, “Yes, I
know what is the truth,” or “ What is the truth is that…”. Yet, they do really understand the meaning of the
word, truth?
For me, to think about the truth, act about it, and speak truth, one must first seek truth. Seeking for truth is
definitely not an easy journey. It demands one’s persistence, determination, hard work, and humility in
order to achieve it. We seek for truth because we want to find things out, little or big, about how much
impact they would affect our existence. We seek for truth because we want to understand all aspects of the
reality, including our being.
(Source: Daing, C. (2017). Crossroads: Love of God and Preference for the Good. Q.C. Abiva Publishing House, Inc.)

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Atthe end of this module, students are expected to:

1. Examine what truth is by identifying issues and concerns that hinder one’s quest for truth
2. Formulate ways and suggest actions on how to translate honesty and truth in all undertakings

Module Lesson

Veritas is the Latin for Truth. As rational individuals, we always search for what is true. In school, we listen
to our teachers during the class discussion, and we participate to class performances because the truth of
our toil is to become successful. We want to achieve something. We want to be somebody in the future. At
home, we always obey our parents and listen to their advices because our parents only want the best for
us. They protect us from all harm, and they nurture us to become assets of the society. In our community,
we follow rules and heed the policies that are set before us because we are always expected to become
responsible citizens of the country.

Simon Blackburn, a Philosophy professor from Cambridge University, defined truth in metaphysics and the
philosophy of language as the property of sentences, assertions, beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are
said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what is the case. Therefore, searching for
what is true is our quest as human beings because we want to maintain the culture of honesty and integrity.

Aristotle suggested, “To say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true.” With his definition, we
understand what truth is. Though searching for truth is not an easy journey, we should still stand tall in
looking for answers to our questions.

However, in man’s search for truth, there are certain circumstances that would try to hinder him. These
circumstances seem like to be the answers to one’s quest. The hindrances in searching for what is true are
plagiarism, fortune telling, numerology, backbiting, gossiping, slander, libel, and character assassination.
 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means to steal and pass off (the ideas
or words of another) as one's own, to use (another's production) without crediting the source, to commit
literary theft, to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. In other
words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it
afterward. As students, we should stop merely copying and pasting information without properly citing the
sources. Our previous courses taught us so many ways on how to avoid plagiarism. We should practice
what is right for us not to be charged of violating the intellectual property rights of the sources.

Another hindrance is fortune telling. Many people believe in fortune-telling. It is an act of predicting one’s
future. People are convinced that what is going to happen are the things which have been foretold. Instead
of doing what is supposed to be rightly done, they just become anxious about what is going to negatively
happen or become more excited about the fortune being foretold. This is obviously blinding people about
the reality…the reality that they are the ones who make their future.

Backbiting is another human action that hinders us in our search for truth. It is a malicious talk about
someone who is not around. Gossiping, on the other hand, is idly talking about the personal or private
affairs of others. AS logical beings, we should not immediately believe on what has been transmitted to us.
Instead, we have to verify things first. If what we verified is true or not, it is now our call to either stop the
gossip or spread the gossip. However, we are always reminded that when a talk destroys a person, we
rather keep it to ourselves.

Making false and malicious statement that makes some people have a very bad opinion about somebody is
called slander. It has to be stopped because if not, this will elevate to character assassination.

All these human actions clearly disrespect one’s search for truth. However, we have to be firm and
persistent in our quest. Together, let us nurture a community of truth and integrity.

Module Activity:

ACTIVITY A. Answer the following questions intelligently.

1. Is one’s search for what is true easy? Why or why not?

- For me, one’s search for what is true is not that easy because the truth is often hidden and

it can be difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is not. Especially now that

fake news is on the rise.

2. What do you do to seek for truth?

 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

- The first thing I do to seek for the truth is by being true to myself. Also, by asking, listening,

and learning.

3. Can you cite some instances or examples in which your journey in seeking for what is true has

been hindered?

- My seeking for what is true has been hindered when I listen in gossip of my friend about

other people. But now, I realize that we need to know the both side of the story and do not

be biased to know the truth.

4. Can you always stand for what is true? How?

- I will fight for what I believe to be right and true. I shall also stay firm on what is correct.

And when I realize that what I think or what I know is incorrect and untrue, I am open to

take criticism. But to avoid this, I will first do some research and I will make sure that what I

know is true.

5. Why do you have to seek for what is true?

- Because if we ignore the truth, we will face more problems. Understanding for what is true

means understanding how the world works, how systems work, how people work, and on

and on. Seeking for what is true helps us live our everyday lives

Activity B.

Do the exercise honestly. Recall some activities that

disregard one’s pursuit for what is true that you have engaged in. You have to be clear of the

reasons in engaging such. Remember, being honest is the beginning of one’s quest for truth.

Sometimes I listen to what other people say about other people and I believed it. Just like

when my friend told me something about one of our classmates and I immediately believe

her even though I didn’t know the entire story. Now that I’ve matured, I recognize this isn’t
 right. It is never acceptable to both listen to and participate in gossiping other people’s life

OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY

Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

Reflection:

Do you think the experience you have written will definitely reflect who you are and of what you will
become? Why?

- Yes, because those things I’ve wrote is already my experience and I’ve learned about it.

Because as they say, experience is the best teacher. And now I know better.

Activity C.

Below are the tendencies and/or interests of human beings in their everyday undertaking and interaction
with themselves, others, and the community at large. Assess yourself by checking the appropriate column
that best describes your inclination in each item.

Interests Always Sometimes Seldom Never

 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

1. Whenever I read the broadsheets or tabloids, I /

go to the daily horoscope to read my luck for a
day, a week, or a month.
2. When I am asked to do research, I use /
materials available online even without citing the
source.
3. By playing Solitaire, I will know if my wish for /
the day or for a specific time will become a reality
or not.
4. I go to places where I can ask a palm reader to /
tell me what is going to happen in my future.
5. Even if I copy and paste ideas and information /
from an online material, I do not forget to cite the
sources.
6. I don’t copy ideas; instead I understand the /
meaning of the concept and put my understanding
in my own words.
7. I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other /
social networking sites in ventilating my
sentiments against somebody, the school, the
organization.
8. I do believe that my totality as a person /
including my perceptions in life is the dictate of my
stars.
9. Whenever there is someone in the organization /
I don’t like because of his/her hygiene, grooming,
and looks, I tell my close friends about it so that
they will also observe the person.
10. The decorations of our house as well as the /
positions of our furniture have something to do
with our fortune.

How many items you checked:

Always: 2 Sometimes: 1

Seldom: 2 Never: 5

Journal Writing:
 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City • Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

Do you think all the items where you have checked Always will help you respect yourself and others in the
quest for what is true? Why?

- Yes, it can help me be more open and true to myself as well as in other people. As a
result, I understand what to do and what to avoid in seeking the truth. I can respect myself
and others more if I know the truth rather than lies.

REFERENCES

Daing, C. (2017). Crossroads: Love of God and Preference for the Good. Q.C. Abiva Publishing House,
Inc.

Gossip. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossip.

Plagiarism. Retrieved from: http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism.

Truth. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/truth-philosophy-and-logic.