The Concept of Truth in Criminology

Abstract

The paper examines the concept of truth in criminology as a dichotomous concept in relation to lies. The author concludes that the concept of «truth» can act as problematic knowledge, containing probable true knowledge, partly corresponding to reality, in which the person accepting it believes. This understanding of the concept should be considered as the goal and result of search and cognitive activity in a criminal case, which is a component of subsequently obtaining reliable, true forensically significant information. The truth, in the noted understanding, can also act as a factor that significantly determines the search and cognitive activity of the investigator in criminal proceedings. From the point of view of communicative interaction, truth can be considered as information, the addressee of which seeks to convey information that he evaluates as true, in order to create in the addressee a complete and true idea of some reality, taking into account his own ideas about such completeness and truth. This definition is applicable to solving problems of procedural actions in which the main method of obtaining information is questioning, as well as to minimizing errors in obtaining true information during the production of these actions. In philosophical knowledge, truth is also studied as an ideal of ethics. Considering that the concept of ethics in criminology is highly debatable, consideration of truth as an ethical ideal so far seems inconclusive. The ideas set forth in the paper may be significant in the context of a comprehensive consideration of the concept of «truth» in criminology and the development of a theory of truth as a phenomenon of criminal proceedings as opposed to lies.