DETERMINING

TRUTH
C
 BELLWORK
•Share a specific experience where you
were fooled or the “pinaasa ka lang”
/”maling akala” moment.
IT REALLY HURTS…!!!
HOW DO WE USE
PHILOSOPHY IN
DETERMINING THE
TRUTH?
 TRUTH
•First concept about truth is rooted in an
Ancient Greek Philosophy’s concept of
knowledge as “justified, true belief”

JUSTIFICATION
THEORIES NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE
AND TRUTH
•CORRESPONDENCE THEORY
•COHERENCE THEORY
•CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
•CONCENCUS THEORY
•PRAGMATIC THEORY
 CORRESPONDENCE THEORY
•States that something is true if it
corresponds to reality or the actual state of
affairs.
•Assumes a direct relationship between an
idea and reality.
•Objects and concepts are defined as they
are in real life.
 CORRESPONDENCE THEORY
•Example:
1. Mammal is an animal which is warm
blooded, has hair and feeds its young with
milk.
2. Dogs bark
3. Pigs can fly
 COHERENCE THEORY
•Proposes that something is true if it makes
sense when placed in a certain situation or
context.
•Varied truths from different perspectives
•An idea or statement is true because it
makes sense in its own context.
•CONSISTENCY
 COHERENCE THEORY
•Example:
1. Belief of Muslim that pigs are unclean.

2. Within a democratic society, only

democratic laws and practices are
accepted.

3. Pope Francis says abortion is an acceptable

practice for Catholics.
 COHERENCE THEORY
•RELATIVISM
- a philosophical concept which contends
that there are no absolute truths.
- an idea is only true within a particular
context.
 CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
•Holds that knowledge is shaped by social forces
and are influenced by culture and history

•What is the given true may be influenced by

historical developments and social struggles

•Knowledge is gained as part of social experience

and requires interaction and collaboration.
 CONSENSUS THEORY
•Views knowledge based on agreement.
•Something is true if almost everyone agrees
that it is true.
•Beliefs, traditions and practice are often
the product of consensus.
•Used to determine the truth of scientific
claims, where experts must agree on it.
 CONSENSUS THEORY
•Example:
Pluto’s classification into a dwarf planet.
 PRAGMATIC THEORY
•Holds the view that something is true if we
can put it into practice or is useful in real
life.
•Ideas should be continually tested to
confirm validity
 PRAGMATIC THEORY
•Verificationism – ideas must be verified
using the sense of experience.

•Scientific method, where experiments are

designed to test hypotheses or confirm
conclusions.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1. A 2013 survey of scientific journals

established the majority of scientists believe
human activities have directly caused
global warming and climate change.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

2. The practice of Muslim women wearing

the veil must be understood within the
framework of Islamic Ethics. The hijab is seen
not only as a symbol of modesty and
privacy, but also as a sign of commitment to
the Muslim faith.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

3. In 1998, two independent astronomical

studies obtained evidence proving the
hypothesis that the universe is continually
expanding at an accelerating rate.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

4. Increased education for women,

economic changes, and the influx of
Western influences have resulted in a
gradual change in India’s once- rigid caste
system as evidenced by increased cases of
intercaste dating and marriages.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

5. Ice is water in frozen or solid form.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

6. In the landmark case of Miranda vs.

Arizona, the US Supreme Court voted 5 – 4
on a decision that establishes the right of the
accused to be informed of his rights,
particularly the right to legal counsel and
the right against self incrimination upon his
arrest.
 WHAT ARE THE
OTHER THINGS THAT
WE SHOULD
CONSIDER TO
DETERMINE TRUTH?
 ARGUMENTS
•How ideas and claims are often presented.

FALLACIES
•Arguments that are based on faulty/flawed reasoning
 FALLACY EXAMPLE

“Of course, he believes that the

ad hominem government is flawed. He is a rebel and
a Communist.

“If the peace agreement will not be

appeal to force signed by the government, then we will
have no recourse but to go war.”
 FALLACY EXAMPLE

“All these charges are baseless; this is

Appeal to emotion just plain harassment, can’t you see how
this is affecting my family?

“Every boy your age already has a

Appeal to the popular
girlfriend , you should go and find one”
 FALLACY EXAMPLE

“”Marriage should be between man and

woman. It has been so for long time in this
Appeal to tradition country; I should remain so today and in the
future.”

“I have a right to free speech,

Begging the question
therefore, you cannot stop me from
(circular argument)
talking”
 FALLACY EXAMPLE

“Ever since you brought the sweater,

Cause-and-effect everything has been going wrong in your life.
You should get rid of it.”

“These cases of robberies in this district

Fallacy of Composition have convinced me that the city has
become den of thieves and criminals.”
 FALLACY EXAMPLE

“You come from a family of doctors and

Fallacy of Division intellectuals! Surely you can do better in this
course”
 FACTS
•Are general established truths, easily verified,
and do not easily change to any situation.

OPINIONS
•Subjective; expresses certain views and beliefs.

•Tendencies or influences which affect the views

BIAS of people.
•Personal views of the person
 BIAS EXAMPLE

Correspondence Bias or “These soldiers who fought in the war are all
Attribution effect bloodthirsty murderers!”

“How can I accept his view that there is

Confirmation Bias
no God? I am a Christian”
 BIAS EXAMPLE

“Preliminary evidences have still not pointed

out the actual cause of the plane crash, but
Framing investigators are currently focusing on the
possibility of pilot error

Magellan’s assault on Mactan Island was a

foolhardy venture, made by and overconfident,
Hindsight careless man who underestimated the valor of the
native Filipinos.
 BIAS EXAMPLE

“As the daughter of the accused, I believe

Conflict of interest that I have the right to express my opinion on
the issue of his alleged corruption.

I do not agree with this Western practice of

Cultural Bias placing aged parents in retirement homes. We
Filipinos take care of our family members.