Henry D. Solatorio Jr.

GE 2
BSN- 1C

1. How to know the truth or verify the truth?

The truth will set you free. As the famous quote suggests, distinguishing
truth is very essential in order to open several opportunities and doors that would
encourage fairness and justice in one’s self and in our society as a whole.
Just as truth is an important tool towards progress, in this modern world
an individual may now find a hard time to pinpoint which information is valid and
which is not. In the advent of the information highway, the internet, one might
consider everything as truthful but it isn’t. A person equipped with all the
available technology should also be mindful of the criteria which conforms to the
validity and truthfulness of any information.
Throughout the entire course of GE 2, in each of our lessons pertaining to
Philippine History, we have been taught and I have basically learned the criteria
each of us should take into consideration before actually believing it. Humans
should be rational enough in classifying information as factual or not.
The first and arguably, the most important criterion that needs to be
scrutinized is the reliability of the source. The source which is, but not limited to,
an author, should be checked rightfully in order to know the intentions, bias if
there is, and background. These factors gradually affect the validity and reliability
of an information. For example, a historian which is directed to account a
particular voyage might be biased to his culture and may wrote things that is
impartial to other settings. This in turn will influence of the factuality of one’s
work. The bias of the source should be taken into profound consideration.
Relating it with the internet, a lot of data is being shared on it these days.
However, not everything that is posted on the Internet is based on facts. As mentioned, it
is ultimately the individual’s responsibility to make sure that the information is factual
before making any decisions based on what he or she reads, hears or sees on the
Internet (or any other communication channel.) However, in many cases, it would be
impossible to fact-check everything. What you can do, though, is make sure that the
information that you receive and share with others is coming from a reliable source.
Remember, there is a lot of good information out there but not everything is truthful.
The next criterion I have learned throughout this course on ensuring truthfulness
of an information is the circulating evidences that supports it. Consequently, a claim is a
statement about something, which could, in theory, be supported with evidence. It is an
assertion about the way things are, or were, or will be, or should be. Claims are, almost
by definition, controversial, in the sense that not everyone agrees with them. That is why
they require evidence. Evidence is the concrete facts used to support a claim. Ideally,
evidence is something everyone agrees on, or something that anyone could, with
sufficient training and equipment, verify for themselves. At its most basic, evidence is
something that can be perceived with the senses. In historical accounts for example, a
reader should be able to identify if there are supporting and existing evidences that may
support a particular reading. This does not merely show support but it solidifies the
authenticity of one’s claim. That is why evidence also takes an essential role to make a
particular information valid, reliable, and truthful.
In a world where information is so vast, every individual should be equipped with
the necessary skills, values, and character in dealing with authenticity of any statement,
news, or historical claim to prevent misunderstanding and misinformation which is very
rampant in today’s situation. We have to scrutinize first before actually putting our belief
on it.