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by Zarathustra on March 8th, 2009
There is cultural and ethical relativism: "It's okay in Africa but not in America."
Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative suggests that we "act on any maxim that one can will as universal law." In plain English, do what you think everyone would believe is right.
There are universal truths in existence. Some have been found and are inarguable (the sky is usually blue), and others must be discovered (aliens do/don't exist).
by Marky Mark on March 8th, 2009
As in many philosophical debates, much of the problem lies in semantics. People say "truth" when what they actually mean is "what I believe to be true" which is not quite the same thing. The latter is belief, opinion, perception and consensus....which MAY or MAY NOT be true. People can believe that something is true but this does not mean that it is in fact true.
I'd rather use the term "real truth" instead of "universal truth" because "universal" implies that it is true in any given situation whereas, in fact, a statement CAN be true in a given situation and untrue in another situation e.g. "This pimple cream works" is true when it works on John but it would be untrue if it failed to take away Janet's acne... but this does not mean that statements like "true for me" or "my reality" mean that we always have the liberty of deciding for ourselves what's true and what's real. Truth is not a product of a fertile imagination. That's self-delusion or misunderstanding. Reality does exist...and it exists independently of human beings capacity to recognize, perceive or understand it. For example, "The earth is flat" was believed to be true hundreds of years ago but in reality the earth was never flat so this statement was never in fact true or correct. It was a belief... that proved to be untrue.
I'd therefore say there is such a thing as real truth when talking about things that exist independently of human perception. That is, truth that is reality and not perception. The only time you can get away with saying "true for me" is for statements that can never really be true or untrue because they are purely based on perception e.g. "Jane is beautiful" will always be purely a subjective opinion and it can therefore (validly) be "true for me".
by BigDaddyBS on November 8th, 2008
Of course something can be "true for you" and not for someone else.
For example, there are many who feel that Bush was right and many who feel he was wrong. There are those who feel that Obama will be right for the country, and many who feel he will be wrong. In these cases, it's opinion and indoctrination (how they were raised) for many people, and what's true for you may not be true for someone else.
Another example is religion. There are Atheists, Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. What's true for me is not necessarily true for you or for someone else. Again, it's opinion, and the way you were brought up, and/or, in some cases, your education.
These are just broad examples. There are many much more narrow examples.
As a morning DJ said, "Everybody's entitled to their own opinion... No matter how stupid or wrong it is" to someone else. So, again, that opinion or stance may be true for you, but not for me.
by Jaded on March 8th, 2009
Some things in life are not subject to absolute truth. Take religion - if a Christian believes so strongly that Jesus is the son of God and I do not, what is the truth? We cannot prove each other wrong nor ourselves right. There is only individual belief in what we believe to true for ourselves.
by bear on March 25th, 2009
I agree that truth is objective and the slide into epistemic relativism has been the fatal flaw of modern philosophy.
by MG1942 Has a Life Penguin on March 9th, 2009
Truth is a bourgeois concept, open to interpretation, alteration, and censorship.
by Mr. Black on March 9th, 2009
Truth is a long and arduous road.
by ENigma on March 9th, 2009
The universal truth cannot be changed but there are always shades of grey according to individual situations.
for example :for a diabetic sugar could be equivalent to poison that is the truth for that person.Does not have to hold truth for me.
Black and white always remain so its the in between which is ambiguous.
by dea_ex_machina on March 8th, 2009
Which truth - the truth? the whole truth? or nothing but the truth? If there was only one truth, why does it need to be stated and re-stated in this oath in court? Why can we just not say "I promise to tell the truth"?
by play it straight on January 13th, 2009
Yes. They way you see it becomes real to you. But you are not the only one looking are you. So others might see it differently than you. But how can you both be right at the same time?
You both have valuable perspectives. None of these perspectives can be said to be absolute, however. Each perspective is only relative. So it is "relatively" true for you and not "absolutely" true.
IT IS TRUE BUT ONLY PARTIALLY TRUE. Integrate these partly true perspectives to get a better one yet and keep integrating and keep integrating. As long as you are integrating you won't go completely bananas about truth. :)
by philosopher-saint on December 26th, 2008
'Philosophy 101' would divide the idea of physical 'truth' into small and capital-cased "t"s, wherein small case = transient, fallable, personal "truth" vs. the universal, greater-than-an-individual, (quasi-)permanent capital case "Truth".
;-)
by NikMaack on December 26th, 2008
Here's the most concrete example that I can think of. It's a matter of physics. I heard this spelled out on Radio Lab, which is a great podcast.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/
We're standing next to each other. We're both wearing watches that work perfectly, set to the exact same time. You put on a jet pack and fly away at a tremendous speed -- not the speed of light, but very fast. You fly back to me, and land. We look at our watches and...
My watch is now ten minutes behind, compared to yours.
Both watches are correct. It's just that, the faster you go, the faster time moves. Having returned to earth, you'll probably have to set your watch back, to match us. Because you live on earth, and want to be in synch with the majority.
If, as you were flying, you studied your watch the entire time, you'd see that it's ticking normally. For you, time did not change in any way. Same goes for me, standing on the earth.
This example shows a situation where what's true for you, is not true for me, but both are completely true.
(By the way, the above has been scientifically proven.)
I take this as a metaphor for morality, perception, history, and life in general. It is possible for two people to have contradictory "truths", and for both "truths" to be accurate. Or at least parts of a puzzle that reveal the whole.
by Mr. Meaulnes on November 8th, 2008
Yes, it can.
There are certain things that everyone or virtually everyone agrees on, and are therefor seen as "Universal Truths", but that doesn't make them right, because there's bound to be someone who disagrees with them, and as long as we're all human, all our beliefs are on the same footing, even if one or another happens to be in the majority.
If you consider something true, then it is true for you, yes. But it's no as though that doesn't mean anything, in fact it dictates your personal reality to a huge degree.
by Lady Justice on November 8th, 2008
That is where the quote, "Ignorance is bliss" comes in. It blinds you and convinces you it is the truth so that it can keep you in its web so that you will not leave however there is far more out there than the simply web you are stuck in now. In my point of view there is no truth just simple lies stated by a majority to control the minority for the purpose of increasing numbers of the majority. However there is documented proof which is different from emotional proof which states what the person did and why. Emotional truth is basically just a statement made by a MAJORITY TO CONTROL THE MINORITY.
by Phillis - Zacks little sister on November 8th, 2008
We go to a movie. You love it, I hate it. That I hate it is true for me. That you love it is true for you. See now?
by LarryH54 on November 8th, 2008
You're right. As an example, relative morality is no morality at all. ANYTHING can be rationalized, that's what the human brain is best at. Witness the Holocaust.
by Claudio on November 8th, 2008
I'd say that true sometimes hurts, but better the true than get cought on a lie... You may forget what you lie for, but wouldn't if you said the true.
by dead leaves raked in a pile on November 8th, 2008
Many absolute truths are only really conventions of a society. It depends on what you mean by "truth."
It is true that a hydrogen atom is one proton and one electron.
It is true that going without water for several months will cause death.
It is true that you must marry your brother's widow.
Maybe you're really thinking of 'right for you'?
by angry_onion on November 8th, 2008
There are tons of things that can be true for you (only).
It depends on how strict (and aware) you are. The greater your awarness (levelheaded and rational) of things the more things that are true for you will be true for others. In that case what is indidiually true "can" become collective truth.
by HaoieZ on November 8th, 2008
Opinions are true for you.
"that movie sucked" can be true for you, but not for the next person.
by CaRbOnPrOdUcK is Baccuss on September 6th, 2009
Humans are such individual diversity, that even a truth need custom sizing to fit each one perfectly.
by DudeLer 2 on September 3rd, 2009
truth is in the mind.
take away mind and there is no truth.
by Penny The Wise on March 8th, 2009
I say to two people: "You're pregnant".
That may be true for the female, but not the male. Therefore, what was said is true for one, but not the other.
Some things, bigger truths, would be true for all. For example, the earth is round. That is a truth for everyone. It's all in context.
by St. Thomas on December 19th, 2008
What is truth?
If truth is a believe in the truth of something, then it is personal. If i say what is ; is. Then that is true.
by dumdum on November 8th, 2008
You are speaking of absolute truths I beieve. There have and will be books written on this 'til the end of time. As a civil[?] society certain truths are widely accepted; simple ones such as up and down, gravity, north and south. The more empirical such as the existance of God{s} or the meaning of life often the truth lies where one sees it and others will have a hard time proving you right or wrong. A person could very argue that what I have just written does not contain a pebble of truth.
by TheVessel on September 3rd, 2009
I'v heard it said that what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me. But what if what's true for me says whats true for you is a lie. Is it still true?
by MrJosh on September 6th, 2009
True is true and there is no such thing as "true for you/me/him/etc." When someone says something is "true for them," it is a distortion of the meaning of the word TRUE. TRUE means "consistent with fact or reality; not false." In this sense, a statment is either true or false; there is no "true for me, but not for you."
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When people say that something is "true for them," what they generally mean is, "I really don't know the truth, but I believe ..."
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Another distortion of the the word TRUE is when truth or falsity doesn't apply to a statement. For instance, another ABer used the example: "'that movie sucked' can be true for you, but not for the next person." This is not something can be evaluated in terms of its truth or falisty. It cannot be true that a movie sucked. It can be true that a movie sucked according to certain criteria, or it can be true that you believe the movie sucked, but whether or not the movie really sucked cannot be spoken of in terms of truth.
by a.c.i.d on September 7th, 2009
You can be certain you are reading my words here, right?
by Zarathustra on March 9th, 2009
Oops, *Delete Answer*
by SABOTEUR on September 6th, 2009
Truth is "what IS".
"What IS" can only be experienced.
Any DESCRIPTION of "what is" renders it an OPINION or INTERPRETATION, hence the fallacy of "different truths".
"Regarding the argument for the existence of God; holding that the existence of the concept of God entails the existence of God" (or any other subject matter) Does the idea of something manifest the existence of that thing? Where then is causality?
by Macmedic and yet ... here I am on January 3rd, 2009
| 3 people like this
Is the premise "All truth can be revealed by empiricism." provable using empiricism?
by Fruitpunchsamurai on August 5th, 2010
| 3 people like this
What evidence or proof would you need to believe that there is a deity?
by Brian on January 6th, 2009
| 21 people like this
What are the "Tools of truth", that is to ask, what tools are available to discern "Truth" from bare facts or from belief systems? What manner or techniques are available to separate and reveal "Truth"?
by Macmedic and yet ... here I am on July 22nd, 2008
| 10 people like this
O answer this question, ask another related to it, and then do the same for the next answer.
Question:
How can we prove the existence of anything but ourselves? (theory of epistemology)
by iouzip on December 8th, 2008
| 1 person likes this
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Comments
good answer, I would however use a different analogy than color, so nobody can argue that color is just an interpretation from our brain attributed to a certain wavelength.
by 773491 on March 9th, 2009
Aha, I threw in the "usually blue" just for that reason. I had in mind that although it is usually blue, it is often red in sunsets, gray in poor weather, and black at night time; among some examples.
by Zarathustra on March 9th, 2009