Overview

What is truth? (Pontius Pilate). It seems simple: “Snow is white” is true if snow is white. But philosophers have fought over this for 2,000 years.

Core Idea

Correspondence Theory: A statement is true if it corresponds to a fact in the world. (The map matches the territory). This is the “common sense” view.

Formal Definition (if applicable)

Coherence Theory: A statement is true if it fits coherently with a system of other beliefs. (Like a legal case—the story must hold together).

Intuition

  • Pragmatic Theory: Truth is what works. If believing “fire burns” keeps you alive, it’s true. (William James).
  • Deflationism: Saying “It is true that snow is white” adds nothing to saying “Snow is white.” Truth is just a linguistic tool, not a deep metaphysical property.

Examples

  • Scientific Truth: Provisional, based on evidence.
  • Mathematical Truth: Necessary, based on logic ($2+2=4$).
  • Moral Truth: Subjective? Objective? (Big debate).

Common Misconceptions

  • “Truth is relative.” (If “Truth is relative” is true, then it’s an absolute truth, which is a contradiction. Most philosophers are realists about truth.)
  • “My truth.” (You can have your own perspective or opinion, but truth usually implies a shared reality.)
  • Liar Paradox: “This sentence is false.” (If it’s true, it’s false. If it’s false, it’s true.)
  • Verisimilitude: Truth-likeness. Newton’s physics isn’t strictly true (Einstein proved it wrong), but it’s closer to the truth than Aristotle’s physics.

Applications

  • Journalism: Fact-checking.
  • Law: Perjury (lying under oath).
  • Logic: Truth tables.

Criticism / Limitations

Correspondence theory struggles with negative facts (“There is no elephant in the room”—what fact does that correspond to?) and moral facts.

Further Reading

  • Blackburn, Truth: A Guide
  • Tarski, The Semantic Conception of Truth