The term truth can have different definitions. On the one hand it can be defined as the certainty that exists about something or when assuring something in particular, without misrepresenting and in a clear way.
However, the most concrete way is to define the truth as the existing correspondence between what a person thinks or knows with respect to reality. This term is difficult to define but also to classify, since it can vary significantly depending on the behavior, the reality of the being or the judgment.
What’s the true
- This is because truth is a property that things have and that is part of what is known as human understanding. In this way, something can be considered to be a truth, when it really occurs in reality, that is, when something is fulfilled or happens.
- In this sense, the truth is the existing concordance between what a person can come to affirm according to their knowledge, feelings or thoughts. This causes that, when talking about the concept of truth, it is necessary to resort to other values such as sincerity, frankness or honesty.
- Thus, the truth is referring to the effective and real existence of something in particular, the existence of some facts in reality.
- However, truth can also refer to any proposition or judgment that cannot be rationally refuted. In this way, we can indicate that the truth is the opposite of a lie, that is, falsehood.
- In addition, it is also possible to refer to the concept of truth when a person wants to show himself in favor of fidelity to a particular idea, being totally convinced of its certainty and justice, although that truth may not really be true for another person. This happens, for example, when talking about religious issues.
- On the other hand, it can also be defined as a clear expression through which one tries to correct or reprimand another person: “Juan told the truths to Pedro’s face.”
The truth in philosophy
- When applying the truth in the field of Philosophy we find that truth implies a relationship with a subject. It has to be linked to an intelligence and a reality. In this way there must be a concordance between what is reality and the thought of a person. In the case that no such correspondence is given, it is considered to be a false proposition.
- The truth in the philosophical field comes from the hand of the formulation made by Aristotle centuries ago, and which is still valid today. However, other philosophers such as Saint Thomas Aquinas, the truth was the intelligibility of the human being and referred to the existing correspondence between reality and the mind. For Kant, for his part, the truth was a logical perfection existing in knowledge itself.
- Each of them, therefore, had a theory regarding a term and concept that has given much talk throughout all of human existence.
Kinds of truth
We can define, mainly, two types of truth: relative truth and absolute truth.
Relative truth
- A relative truth is one that consists of a proposition that can only be considered valid when it is related to certain criteria. These can be a point of view of a person, a norm or a convention.
- However, the relative truths depend on different aspects, starting with the different norms or principles that are linked to a particular era or culture. This means that in order to affirm or make a proposition based on this truth, one must pay attention to the way in which they are being seen.
- This, for example, can be seen when a person from a region claims that it is “hot” in a place, when that thermal sensation that he has is different from other people who are in the same place but are used to living in another place. on the planet where temperatures are highest.
- This will make it a relative truth, since although that person does not lie and adjusts to the reality of their own perception and sensation of heat, this is not such for those people who are already thermally accustomed to it, for whom it does not exist. such condition. In these cases none of them would be making a false proposition, but they would be different according to the same concept of truth.
Absolute truth
- For its part, an absolute truth is that proposition or idea that is true in all times and cultures. That is, they are those that are associated with facts and phenomena that are fixed, unalterable, invariable…. In addition, it is possible that a meaning that is transcendent can be attributed to them, even to those that are related to the religious sphere. This type of truth is linked to nature itself.
- In this way, an absolute truth is something that is absolutely true or absolutely false, without the possibility of doubts about it by any person. For example, one of them is to ensure that death is the end of life. This is a reality and cannot be replicated.