What is truth - in science and beyond.

Abstract

Truth is threatened in our societies and one might wish that scientists should stand up for truth, but in order to do so, one needs to know what is truth and how it can be recognized. The oldest and most widely accepted concept of truth is the Correspondence Theory requesting a fit of propositions and reality. In the Coherence Theory truth is a consistent property of a whole system of propositions. In the Pragmatic Theory truth works in practical terms. Scientists have defined criteria to verify true statements by experiments and by the simplicity of theories. Aristotle proposed parsimony claiming the superiority of theories which derive from fewer hypotheses. David Hume suggested probability arguments to assess the force of evidence. Nicolai Hartmann elaborated a model based on the congruence of a priori logical arguments with a posteriori empirical observations. Karl Popper introduced the falsification of testable theories as a way to better theories. The analysis shows that scientific and medical research uses classical philosophical criteria of truth in their daily work. Humanities use different, hermeneutic criteria of truth. Finally, societies need for their coherence a dialectic approach to truth based on honest discussion of opposing views.