Determining the truth

P HI LO SO PHY
 Doubt
has a very important purpose in
philosophy as it drives our desire to
discover truth. Nothing is taken as true
unless there is sufficient reason and
evidence to prove that is indeed true
 Truth
•Is central in the study of philosophy
•Philosophers agree that there is no definite
measure in determining the truth
•Truth is relative to the kind of standard one
adheres to
•Is a proposition believed to be the absolute
reality
•Truth may include fact, but
it can also include belief
•It lies at the heart of any
inquiry. It is a fact that has
been verified.
 Propositions
•Are statements about the
world or reality which may or
may not carry truth.
•Propositions which
are observed to be
real or truthful are
considered FACTS
 Fact
•Is a piece of information having
objective reality which is
acknowledge by the greater
whole
•A concept whose truth can be
proved
 Opinion
•It is a judgement based on personal
convictions.(beliefs)
•Which may be not be factual,
truthful, or false
 Beliefs
 Are statements that express convictions
that are not easily and clearly explained
by facts. T o judge the truthfulness of a
belief, we must also consider things
such as the person’s experiences and
views.
 Explanations
•Are statements that assume
the claim to be true and
provide reasons why the
statement is true.
 Theories of Truth
1.THE CORRESPONDENCE THEORY
•Is an ancient concept that dates back to the
time of Plato
•The truth of a proposition is determined by
its relationship(correspondence) to the way
things actually are in the world (reality)
•The term “Correspondence
Theory” was coined by the
analytic language philosophers
Betrend Russell(1912) and
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1914-1916)
•Realist theory
 Example:
•The proposition “birds can fly” is
true because in reality, birds can
really fly.
•the proposition “cats can bark”,
however , is false because cats do
not bark; only dogs do.
 Theories of Truth
2. THE COHERENCE THEORY
•A proposition is true if it is consistent with a
system of other propositions considered true.
•A person’s judgement (proposition) is based on
his/her statements coherence to a to a certain set
of establish beliefs
•Idealist theory of truth
•the culture of a person and his/her set of
belief as imposed by the society
•What may be true to one culture or
society may not be true to others.
•There is a possibility of different “truths”
from different perspectives.
•this theory which was
originally developed by Georg
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and
Baruch Spinoza describes how
one’s interpretation of truth
actually works.
 Example:
•The proposition “pigs are unclean
animals” is true to the Muslim
community. However, such truth
for the Muslims is not shared by
the Christians.
 Theories of Truth
3. THE PRAGMATIC THEORY
• A proposition is true if it is a useful
• Linked the nature of truth with the principle of action and the
concept of utility
• This theory implies that in order to know the truth, a person
must engage oneself with something that would give him/her
the benefit or the highest firm of success.
• A belief can be considered true if it is proven to have a practical
use in the life of an individual.
 Example:
•The belief in the power of prayer is said to be true
as it needed for one’s salvation for others
•Many children believe in the idea that Santa Claus
is true. Remember when you were young you
would try to stay awake until we hours of the
morning in order to catch Santa putting your gifts
inside your Christmas socks.
 Arguments
 are a series of statements that provide
reasons to convince the reader or listener that
a claim or opinion is truthful.
 They often take the form of statements that
are either claims of facts and are phrased in
such a way that they seem reasonable.
 Fallacies
•Arguments that sounds
convincing and be very
persuasive in order to shape
other’s opinion and deliver flawed
judgement and reason.
Fallacy Definition Example
Ad hominem Attacking the individual “you are irritatingly
person instead of the ugly, that is why you
argument cannot be promoted”
Ad baculum Telling the hearer that “you have to pass this
(appeal to force) something bad will text message to 10
happen to him/her if people or else you will
he/she does not accept receive bad luck”
the argument
Ad misericordiam Urging to hearer to “I cannot take the
(appeal to pity) accept the argument exam. You have to
based upon an appeal to consider, my dog just
emotions, sympathy,etc died”
Fallacy Definition Example

Ad populum Urging the hearer to “everybody wants

(appeal to popular accept a position because him/her to be president;
opinion) bandwagon majority of the people we should support
hold to it. him/her too.”

Ad antiquitatem Trying to get someone to “we have been doing this

(appeal to tradition) accept something Sine time immemorial,
because it has been done therefore this is the right
or believed for a long time thing to do.”

Begging the question Assuming the thing that “ I am pretty because my

you are trying to prove is mom said I am pretty,
true and I believe her.”
Fallacy Definition Example
Fallacy of composition Assuming that what is “hydrogen(H) is air.
true of the part is true to
Oxygen(O) is air.
the whole Therefore, h2O is air.”
Fallacy of division Assuming that what is “her entire family is a
true of the whole is truefamily of beauty
for the parts queens. I’m sure she will
be a beauty queen too.”
Fallacy of equivocation Using the same term in “her grandmother loves
an argument in different to eat apples but she is
places but the word has the apple of the eye of
different meanings. her grandmother will
have a hard time eating
her.”