Truth: Difference between revisions
imported>Hayford Peirce (Don't see why "The topic of" is needed in first sentence -- seems overly wordy to me; also, think "philosophers" are meant, not "philosophy", otherwise, who is "they" further on?) |
imported>Pat Palmer (more messing around) |
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'''Truth''' is spoken about in two ways: either as deep, important [[wisdom]], or as a certain desirable quality of any [[statement]], no matter how trivial. [[theology|Religious thinkers]] sometimes speak of ''the Truth''—with a capital "T"—as meaning an entire [[worldview]], or of some deeply important insight, or even as [[God]] himself.<ref>The [[Bible]] verse John 14:6 has [[Jesus]] say, famously, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."</ref> By contrast, for contemporary [[philosophy|philosophers]], the topic of truth is a rather abstract, [[technical philosophy|technical]] one in the [[philosophy of language]]: they study what we mean whenever we say that any casual claim, such as the claim that I just arrived home, is ''true.'' For discussion of deep Truth, we recommend that you consult the articles [[religion]], [[wisdom]], [[enlightenment]], [[God]], and [[worldview]]. The following article concerns the abstract, technical topic. | '''Truth''' is spoken about in two ways: either as deep, important [[wisdom]], or as a certain desirable quality of any [[statement]], no matter how trivial. [[theology|Religious thinkers]] sometimes speak of ''the Truth''—with a capital "T"—as meaning an entire [[worldview]], or of some deeply important insight, or even as [[God]] himself.<ref>The [[Bible]] verse John 14:6 has [[Jesus]] say, famously, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."</ref> By contrast, for contemporary [[philosophy|philosophers]], the topic of truth is a rather abstract, [[technical philosophy|technical]] one in the [[philosophy of language]]: they study what we mean whenever we say that any casual claim, such as the claim that I just arrived home, is ''true.'' For discussion of deep Truth, we recommend that you consult the articles [[religion]], [[wisdom]], [[enlightenment]], [[God]], and [[worldview]]. The following article concerns the abstract, technical topic. | ||
The word ''truth'' also has a history of being used as a [[polemic]] tool, as when a person slightly exaggerate the truthiness of a statement with something like "it's the pure and simple truth"<ref>[[Oscar Wilde]] made a famous rebuttal of this tactic: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple" (from The Importance of Being Ernest, Act I).</ref>, as though saying this somehow proves something. | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 21:04, 7 May 2008
Truth is spoken about in two ways: either as deep, important wisdom, or as a certain desirable quality of any statement, no matter how trivial. Religious thinkers sometimes speak of the Truth—with a capital "T"—as meaning an entire worldview, or of some deeply important insight, or even as God himself.[1] By contrast, for contemporary philosophers, the topic of truth is a rather abstract, technical one in the philosophy of language: they study what we mean whenever we say that any casual claim, such as the claim that I just arrived home, is true. For discussion of deep Truth, we recommend that you consult the articles religion, wisdom, enlightenment, God, and worldview. The following article concerns the abstract, technical topic.
The word truth also has a history of being used as a polemic tool, as when a person slightly exaggerate the truthiness of a statement with something like "it's the pure and simple truth"[2], as though saying this somehow proves something.
Notes
- ↑ The Bible verse John 14:6 has Jesus say, famously, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
- ↑ Oscar Wilde made a famous rebuttal of this tactic: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple" (from The Importance of Being Ernest, Act I).