PH100 Introduction to Philosophy
Major Essay: “The Truth about Truth”
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Q: What is Truth? Defend your argument by referring to at least two of the theories of truth, e.g., correspondence theory, coherence theory or pragmatism etc.
What is Truth? Compare and contrast two theories about truth. Which one do you support? (Give reasons)
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of ‘truth’ is; ‘conformity with fact; agreement with reality’, and you would agree that this definition is widely accepted within the context of our society. This particular classification, as applicable as it is to our daily lives, stops short of actually articulating what it means to be true; in that it does not address if and/or why something ‘is true’; and the nature of truth itself. Therefore it does not in fact give the answer to the proposed question, even though the meanings of the terms used to define the concept of ‘truth’ are well enough understood in general. It does, however, create a rough blueprint for the philosophical theories of truth through its association with the terms fact and reality, whose nature is equally unclear (O’Connor, 1975).
The question of truth is metaphysical, in that to form a comprehensive meaning one must look not only into the definition within the context of the English language as above, but also entertain the prospect that the concept of truth is independent of this, and even of the human mind, because of such a relationship with the two conventions of fact and reality. The accurate meanings of these are readily, and commonly, arguable by philosophers searching for the meaning of truth through its varied existing theories because the nature of each directly constitutes the meaning of truth by the mere fact that they are the terms by which this meaning is defined.
I Pre-Conditions for a Theory of Truth
Clearly the density of this subject’s afflictions prove to be its greatest source of argument, so in order...